Season Two: Dimensions
by lovelornis
Summary: AOS!Uhura and TOS!Uhura each find themselves thrust into the other's dimension. Pairings Include: Spock/Uhura, Kirk/McCoy, & Various Others. Part 3 of Star Trek: Beyond 'Verse.
1. Error: Operator

**A/N**: It would probably be super helpful to have already read Season One: Generations, but I'm going to try and make these stories as stand-alone as I possibly can. That being said, if you don't wish to read Generations, you should be all right if you just read its epilogue, The End Has No End, which is the lead-in to Dimensions.

**Episode One - Error: Operator**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Transporter Room_

_Time_, Spock reflected, _has a curious dichotomy. _There were moments when there seemed to be so much time that the scope of it stretched beyond reason, and other moments when time seemed so scant that the very idea of it ceased to have meaning. The seventy-seven seconds which passed between Spock exitting the bridge with the captain and the two of them arriving at the transporter room each took on the characteristics of full years. The same could be said for the two hundred and twenty-three seconds it took for his wife to finally materialize on the second transporter pad from the left. By contrast, the five point four seconds it took for him to realize that the person on the pad was not, in fact, his wife passed in such a minuscule period as to make him unsure they had ever happened at all.

The imposter had all of the external physical attributes of his wife, albeit some ten years ago. Eyes, nose, mouth, body structure, all the same. Not similar, but the same. An impossible, implausible, inexplicable sameness. He froze in contemplation of this sameness even as Jim threw a perplexed look his way. "Seriously? You two haven't seen each other in months! I think a little workplace impropriety can be excused. Here, look, it's easy. I'll demonstrate," Jim said and started to approach the imposter, who had gone still and wary at the sight of them, with his arms outstretched for a hug.

"Captain," Spock warned.

"Captain?" The imposter spoke simultaneously; her quizzicially tilted head and furrowed brow presenting the impression that she was intently studying everything around her and finding it all to be out of sync with what she had expected.

Jim stopped. He glanced between Spock and the imposter both, and then did a double take once he had paused long enough to get a closer look at her. "Uhura?" Jim asked.

The imposter drew back rather than coming forward. "Yes?"

Mr. Scott stepped out from behind the control station and joined them. He too had a troubled expression on his face as he surveyed the imposter. The four of them were arrested in this motionless stand-off when next the doors opened and his daughter was revealed, followed closely by young Mr. Kirk. Before anyone could stop her, Grayson ran forward and threw her arms around the imposter on the transporter pad with an exulted exclamation of: "_M'aih!_"

Spock could see -perhaps everyone in the room could see- with exquisite clarity the very second the girl realized that it was not her mother that she had embraced. She went absolutely rigid and then recoiled at the moment of terrible insight. Swiftly, Spock went to Grayson and caught her by the shoulders just as she was stumbling backward down the steps of the transporter pad to get away from the imposter who now looked somewhat more alarmed than before. "What's going on here?" The imposter spoke for only the third time since she had beamed in.

Jim placed himself between the imposter and everyone else. "That's exactly what I'd like to know. Who are you?"

The imposter crossed her arms defensively. "I am Lieutenant Nyota Uhura of the Starship Enterprise. Who are _you_?"

"I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the same."

The imposter's eyes went wide and she shook her head back and forth as if in horror. "I don't understand. The James T. Kirk I know is a younger man than you are now. You cannot be him. Yet your voice, your mannerisms, your style of address, are all his."

"I could say the same about you and the Nyota Uhura I know. Except that she is a little older."

Grayson very suddenly and violently found her voice. "Where is my mother?!" Jacob went to her side and placed a comforting hand upon her arm which she did not seem to notice.

The imposter looked on Grayson with new eyes. "_'M'aih'_," she said softly. "The Vulcan word for mother. That's what you called me just now. Your mother is...me?"

"Her mother is _our_ Uhura," Jim corrected. "What's the last thing you remember before arriving here?"

"Mr. Scott was beaming me down with an away team to a planet called Esidaan. You two, I mean _my_ captain and Mr. Spock, were supposed to join the team on the planet's surface shortly thereafter."

"So you're still on the exploration mission?"

The imposter nodded. "We're just rounding up the second year."

"And what year _is_ that precisely?"

"2268."

Jim looked even more concerned. "But...that's just ten years ago. _Our_ exploration mission began over _twenty_ years ago..."

"Cap'n, I think we've got another dimension jumper on our hands," Mr. Scott pointed out needlessly.

Jacob continued Mr. Scott's fundamental line of reasoning to its next obvious conclusion. "If _she's_ here, then where -and _when_- is the other Uhura?"

**. . .**

_{TOS-Verse} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Briefing Room One_

"Captain's log: Stardate 2268.353. Whilst transporting down to assist in the continued evacuations of the geologically compromised colonies on the planet Esidaan, one of my officers, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, was stricken by a strange affliction which has affected both her mind and body. She has aged noticably, and she believes that she is a different Nyota Uhura than the one known to us." Captain James T. Kirk ended his log entry and slumped back in his chair at the long table of Briefing Room One. Across from him, Mr. Spock sat with the tips of his stapled fingers tapping at his lips; a look of intense rumination on his face. "Well, Mr. Spock," Kirk said at length. "Analysis."

The Vulcan before him drew a long breath and let it out with a kind of befuddled gravitas. "It would seem that the Lieutenant Uhura we found in the transporter room truly is _not_ the one with whom we are familiar."

"If that's so, then who _is_ she and where did she come from?"

"If I may...?" Spock began with his oddly halting form of hesitation. Kirk signaled for him to continue. "Perhaps, the more pertinent question is not '_where_' but '_when_'."

Kirk sat forward and focused intently on his first officer. "You believe she may have somehow traveled through time?"

Spock nodded gravely. "From the future, judging by her approximate age."

"That would explain her belief that she has a child," Kirk agreed. "And her..." He coughed. "...actions toward you in particular. I, ah, never knew you two were so close."

"The lieutenant and I are in no way romantically involved, Captain," Spock corrected impassively.

Kirk could no longer hide his grin. "Were you yourself not just implying that this new Uhura might be from the future? Clearly, Mr. Spock, you have yet to know your own heart."

Spock did not get the chance to respond before noises at the door caused them both to look over just in time to witness Dr. McCoy entering the room. The doctor took a seat next to them at the table. His expression was as disgruntled as always when he began to speak. "Well, Jim, I've got bad news and I've got worse news. Which would you prefer first?"

"Give me the worse of it," Kirk requested.

"All right," Bones said. "I had Nurse Chapel run a full diagnostic. Physically, that young woman _is_ Nyota Uhura aged approximately ten years from the time of her last check-up eight days ago, and she _has_ borne a child. There can be no mistake. Additionally, I performed a thorough psychoanalysis of Ms. Uhura. She is completely mentally sound. Everything she's told us has been, at least to the best of her knowledge, the absolute truth."

"That's the worse of it?"

"It is if you know the bad news." Bones paused for what Kirk could only assume was pure dramatic effect. "She says she's from the year 2279, has been married to Mr. Spock for eighteen years, and that the Enterprise's exploration mission ended more than sixteen years ago. She's more than from the future, Jim. She's from another plane of existence."

"An alternate reality," Spock mused aloud.

"Precisely," Bones agreed.

"How is that possible?" Kirk muttered darkly.

"How is _anything_ we come across possible?" Bones observed.

"Many things which are possible are dismissed more for their lack of probability than for their inherent capacity to be actualized," Spock finally weighted in. "Whether it is _probable_ or not, an alternate version of the lieutenant now exists here, and we can only postulate that the Uhura of this reality has either disappeared entirely or has taken her place in the other reality."

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Briefing Room One_

Grayson studied the profile of the imposter; taking in every feature of the woman's face that she could see from her vantage point three seats down the long briefing room table from her. It was her mother's face. There was no doubt about that. And the resemblance did not stop at the superficial. The imposter moved and spoke and _breathed_ like Grayson's mother. She _was_ Grayson's mother, but she was not. Grayson did not even know what it was that marked this woman out as being a wholly different person. It wasn't anything Grayson could readily point out. Nevertheless, Grayson had felt something inherently wrong the moment her arms had gone around the imposter; something primal which had told her that the imposter was not the woman who had borne her.

"So you're saying that I married Mr. Spock here, and we had this lovely child together?" The imposter gestured at Grayson briefly before turning her attention back to Uncle Jim. "Next thing you're going to tell me is that you're actually the first officer and _Mr. Spock's_ the captain."

"Well..." Uncle Jim said. "That's not _presently_ true, but..."

"Ah! No, please, don't tell me anymore for now!" The imposter put the palms of both hands to her forehead like Grayson's mother did when overwhelmed. "Isn't _anything_ the same here?"

Dr. McCoy's disgruntled tones sounded suddenly from just outside the now open doorway as he and Dr. Kajal walked in. "Why didn't you just stay on the bridge, Kajal? There's nothing you can do here. Your doctorate's just for show, damn it! I'm the _real_ doctor here!"

"Why don't you just tattoo your doctorate on your forehead already and save yourself some much-needed breath?" Dr. Kajal retorted with palpable disdain.

Uncle Jim glared at them both. "I don't suppose either of you can tell me who has the conn?"

"Chekov!" The doctors collectively snapped.

"Fine. You," he said, pointing at Dr. Kajal. "Do as you're told for once and sit down." Dr. Kajal sniffed superiorly, but quietly took a seat nonetheless. "You," he said; pointer finger shifting to Dr. McCoy. "Take Uhur...the lieuten...take our guest here down to Sickbay and run a full diagnostic on her. Stat."

"Aye," Dr. McCoy nodded, turning to hold his arm out to the imposter. "Madam?"

The imposter rose gracefully and gave a genuine smile for the first time. "Trust Leonard McCoy to be the same in any dimension," she commented as the doctor led her away. Grayson followed the woman with her eyes until she was out of sight. Beside her, her father shifted once, but did not speak. He had not said one word in all of this.

Uncle Jim turned his full glare on Dr. Kajal. "Start explaining," he barked.

"There is nothing for me to explain, James. I told you that the time field was dangerous! I told you that it was unpredictable! I advised you to tell your officer to wait for your ship to return to Earth! I employed every precaution at my disposal to ensure the safety of said officer when she went ahead with her foolhardy journey here _despite_ my advice! I'm a fake doctor, as your CMO was all too happy to point out, not an all-powerful deity!"

A long silence followed Dr. Kajal's words; a silence which only one voice chose to break. "Dr. Kajal, I am without my wife and our child is without her mother. If there is anything at all that you know about the time field which we do not, now would be the time to divulge it," Grayson's father said in a dark, steely whisper.

"Mr. Spock, I understand your loss. Perhaps more so than anyone else in this room. I lost my husband and daughter suddenly and tragically and I have never been the same since. Had I the power, I would move mountains to make it so that no one else would have to suffer the same. So believe me when I say that there is almost nothing we can do to get your wife back."

A fresh, bright spike of tears welled up in Grayson's eyes until she could barely see anything around her. One dropped, then another, until she couldn't stop the downpour anymore. Her father's hand fell upon her shoulder, a heavy, solid weight which anchored her emotions and steadied their ferocity. "Ko-fu, I think it would be best if you retired to our quarters." His words were a suggestion, but his tone brooked no argument. Grayson nodded and rose to leave.

Uncle Jim caught her arm as she passed him. "Hey, we'll talk about this, okay?"

Grayson's jaw clenched. At the moment, she could not think of anything worse than discussing her feelings about this. "I would rather not," she told him, and then exitted the room as quickly as possible.

Outside, she drew in a deep, long breath and let it out slowly. She repeated the calming exercise twice more before her tears finally stopped. Angrily swiping the remaining wetness from her cheeks, Grayson curled her hands into tight fists and resolutely decided upon a new course in the direction opposite her family's quarters. She was not going to waste time crying in her bedroom like a helpless Human child. She got three steps before several voices called her name at once. She looked around to see Jacob, Sylaak, and Terryn coming toward her.

Terryn immediately rushed ahead of the other two and threw her arms around Grayson warmly. "Everything's gonna be okay," the girl said with such conviction that it imbued Grayson with the smallest pinprick of grossly illogical hope.

Jacob reached them next. He leaned easily over height-challenged Terryn and laid a sweet kiss upon Grayson's temple. "I thought you could use some friends," he said after pulling back.

"What, no Koji?" Grayson looked around.

"He's MIA. As per usual," Terryn griped, finally letting Grayson go. "According to his mom, he chose to stay back at Anthos when we left this morning. He just can't resist all those shiny, new toys and boys."

"Anyway, where are you headed?" Jacob asked. "I thought you'd be going back to your quarters."

"She was on her way to Medical Bay," Sylaak said, breaking his silence at last. His eyes seemed to bore directly through hers and into her mind, searching out every secret she wanted to keep hidden.

Grayson met his keen, grey stare without shame; with an edge of defiance even. "So, what if I was?"

Sylaak came closer. His gaze held none of the censor which she had expected to find there, only gentle understanding. His reply was in softly-spoken Vulcan. "The resemblance is remarkable, but she is not your mother."

"You've seen her," Grayson stated more than questioned, taking pity on their companions and keeping her reply in Federation Standard.

"I was in Medical Bay when Dr. McCoy brought her there," said Sylaak, following her lead with the language choice. "I do not believe that you will find what you seek in her."

"I have to do something. It's my mother." Grayson willed Sylaak to understand her need to believe that she had the power to bring her mother back no matter how illogical that need was.

Five slow beats passed before Sylaak at last inclined his head. "If _she_ is _here_, then your mother must be _there_. I will do whatever it takes to help you."

"Thank you," Grayson said.

"Wait a sec, are we talking about taking matters into our own hands here?" Jacob cut in.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Grayson shot back.

"Have you even _met_ me? I'm in," he said.

Grayson, Sylaak, and Jacob all turned to look at Terryn.

Terryn rolled her eyes. "Oh please, as if _I'd_ be the one to object! Flouting authority is practically my life's calling!"

"It's settled, then," Jacob pronounced. He looked Grayson in the eyes, bringing his right hand up to caress her face and brushing his thumb over her cheekbone softly. "We'll get her back for you. No matter what."

**. . .**

_{TOS-Verse} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Lieutenant Uhura's Quarters_

Uhura studied her surroundings intently. They were standard crew accomodations; familiar dimensions with all the general furnishings one might expect. It was one large room split into two main areas -a living area and a semi-sectioned off bedroom- and a small bathroom attached to the whole. The occupant had obviously made every effort to individualize the area with colorful throws and rugs, and prominently displayed Afrocentric wall hangings, sculptures and artifacts. Uhura wasn't really surprised to see many of her own family heirlooms among them. In fact, except for a very few details, this was almost precisely the way she had decorated her own quarters back when she and Spock were still courting and living separately from one another.

Notably, the only thing which did not mesh well with the rest was the tall, overly-serious Vulcan lingering uncomfortably near the doorway. When he noticed that her scrutiny had turned on _him_, Mr. Spock shifted from one foot to the other in a way which seemed the natural and logical consequence of standing too long in one position but was, to her trained and discerning eye, a product of an acute bout of self-consciousness. Uhura was struck by a sudden eerie awareness of the intimate store of knowledge she possessed about this man who was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger to her. Seeing him stand there in discomfort and knowing just how much he wished to conceal it, made her feel almost as if she had stolen the knowledge of it from him. She found herself wanting to offer him an apology as if she had accidently walked in on him in a less than dignified state of undress. He cleared his throat minimally. "If you would prefer one of the guest quarters, I can have one prepared to your specifications."

"No," she said, too quickly, too forcefully. She could tell by the ever-so-slight jerk of his right brow as the word shot out of her mouth. She tempered her tone before she spoke again. "I'd prefer to be around familiar things. I find them...calming."

"I will inform the captain that this arrangement meets with your approval." Mr. Spock turned to leave, forcing her to acknowledge, at least to herself, that _he_ was one of the familiar things keeping her calm.

She didn't stop to think before she reached out to grasp his hand and stop him, saying a quick: "Wait!" A second too late, she realized her social misstep and quickly let go. "I'm sorry."

"No harm was done, Lieutenant," he forgave easily.

"I just...I wanted to apologize for earlier...in the transporter room? Obviously I thought you were my husband and I took certain...liberties with your person. And of course now I've just overstepped again so I know you probably have no reason to believe me when I say it won't happen again, but I'm saying it anyway, because-"

The shock of an ultrawarm Vulcan hand settling lightly on top of her wrist arrested her breath and brought an unceremonious end to her nervous rambling. She glanced up from where her eyes had fastened on the floor at their feet to see Mr. Spock favoring her with a remarkably patient expression. "Lieutenant," he said mildly, drawing his hand back slowly. "No harm was done."

Uhura nodded her thanks, and watched Mr. Spock's back as he left until the door of her extra-dimensional doppelgänger's quarters closed in his wake. Alone for the first time since she had literally stumbled into this strange alternate reality, she began to feel the full measure of her aloneness. This wasn't like her solo trip to Gangaul V where, even though she had sometimes felt alone, she had known that somewhere out there Spock and Grayson and everyone else she knew existed in a true and tangible sense. _There_, they had been ultimately reachable...real. _Here_, surrounded by living, breathing caricatures of the people she knew and loved, she had never felt more alone in her life. Slumping back against the wall near the door, she at last sank down to the floor and gave in to the tears she had been holding at bay.


	2. Homesick At Space Camp

**Episode Two - Homesick At Space Camp**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, The Pavilion_

McCoy cast a critical glance around the massive, meeting chamber the Anthosians called 'The Pavilion'. It boasted five tiers of stadium seating which wrapped nearly all the way around the room, leaving a wide opening at one end to allow for a walkway which lead to the needlessly gigantic main doors. In the center of the chamber, on a raised platform, was the enormous table at which he and the others sat that mimicked the crescent moon design of the surrounding stands except that _its_ open end was like a giant maw gaping to gobble up a tiny lectern, presumably for the poor bastards made to stand before the Council, which stood in its path. Topped off with a mile-high, cathedral-style, arched ceiling speckled with stained glass skylights which cast an ethereal multi-hued glow on the sculpted stone near the top that faded in the bright, clear artificial sunlight streaming in from the countless ornate windows which lined the room, The Pavilion was as ostentatious as it was a blatant power play. The only question in his mind was: _'What does Kajal have to gain, or lose, from this meeting?'_

"The Pavilion was built to honor the souls lost when Anthos VIII fell. Each person is represented by one of the panes of stained glass in the ceiling. When committees gather here, when the Council holds session, and when special meetings such as this take place, it is tradition for us all to give a minute in remembrance of those we have lost. Please, join us in this tradition now," Kajal spouted self-importantly, sitting in the central seat at the large, crescent-moon-shaped table.

As everyone solemnly bowed their heads, McCoy took the opportunity to do a quick head count. Aside from the Enterprise's senior officers (Jim, Spock, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, and himself) along with Uhura's dimensionally-challenged doppelgänger, there was Kajal and two of her little minions (Ravi Amir and the enigmatic Mr. Vodik) in attendance. Not the most crack team on Kajal's end, but McCoy still didn't trust any of them as far as he could throw them.

"Thank you," Kajal said after the moment of silence ended. "Screen." At Kajal's command, a large viewscreen, much like the one she had surprised them with at Ogygia on their first day there, rose up from the floor in front of the table. On it, a familiar sentient dot pulsed as though with the beat of life. Oh yeah, McCoy thought. _How could I have forgotten about the ace up Kajal's sleeve!_

"Greetings, all," Anthos said, in "her" odd monotone.

After awkward replies sounded from almost everyone at the table, Lita displayed an equal opportunity smirk to all and sundry. "I hope you don't mind," she said. "Anthos likes to sit in on all such meetings. To provide input and suggestions. Besides, I believe she can provide a unique insight on this particular meeting."

McCoy shared a glance with Jim who, in turn, shared one with Spock. It was apparent that none of them had considered the part Kajal's interdimensional being might yet play in all of this. Jim spoke first. "Do you know where our Uhura is, Anthos?"

The pulsing dot on the screen swelled and constricted a few times before it finally spread out and fragmented into the budding rose patterns which represented the vibrations in sound frequency that were Anthos' speech. "I am sorry, Captain Kirk, but I do not exist in the dimension in which your crewmember is trapped. Based on the information I obtained from the records of both the Enterprise and the Blue Dove, it is my postulation that Lieutenant Uhura was transported out of her vessel while already within the time field, and subsequently switched places with the version of her who now sits among you."

McCoy's eyes went involuntarily to the Uhura facsimile who sat between Jim and Spock. The poor woman looked sick with worry and horribly lonely. He made a note to prescribe something for her nerves. The stars seemed to be lining up to give her a hard time. He could only imagine how _their_ Uhura was holding up, wherever -or WHENever- she was...

"On to the purpose of this gathering," Kajal announced, bringing the focus firmly back to herself. "I spent the bulk of yesterday evening confering with my department heads and now I want to give you the chance to hear our two best options for retrieving your officer."

"Make that _three_ best options," a loud voice said from the wide walkway which led to the main doors. All eyes turned to see the unwelcome figure of Newt Ward striding their way.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Jim growled.

"Newt!" Amir scolded.

"This is a closed meeting, Dr. Ward!" Kajal steamed.

The mad-eyed scientist ignored the upheaval he had caused with his mere presence and plopped down into an empty seat at the table next to his buddy Amir. "I prefer Newt, Lita, and don't you worry. I didn't see any unauthorized ne'er-do-wells sneaking in whilst I was hacking the lock, so we should be all right."

"Get him out of here!" Jim shouted, getting to his feet. "Or I will!"

"Dr. Ward, if you do not leave the premises at once, I will have security escort you out!" McCoy could not resist a small inward grin at the fact that Kajal seemed genuinely flustered. _I might have liked this Ward character were he not the jackass to end all jackasses,_ McCoy thought.

Amir stood up and grabbed Ward by the elbow, urging him up. "I'll go with you. Come on, before Dr. Kajal has you arrested! Again!"

Ward shrugged Amir's hand off. "Try it, Lita! I'm still a department head, in case you forgot, and that means I can't legally be restricted from sitting in on this meeting! And seeing as I'm the only one here who has made a ten-year study of the time field, I think it's very curious that you don't want me here!"

"Under subsection A-03b, a department head may be excluded from any such gathering at the request of a visiting party, _Newton_. You might have known that if you had paid closer attention when you were in my class," Kajal retorted. "Captain James Kirk, do you officially wish to exclude Dr. Newton Ward from this meeting?"

"Yes," Jim said at once.

"No," Spock spoke over him.

Jim looked at Spock. "Commander?"

"Captain, if this man is the most qualified to provide answers concerning the time field, it would be logical to hear what he has to say."

"Spock, his last bright idea was attempted murder."

"As I recall, so was your own."

McCoy stifled a snort. _That oughta shut him up..._

"James," pressed Kajal. "What is your decision?"

Jim was silent for several beats before at last giving his answer. "Let him stay."

"Fine," Kajal agreed. "Now let's all be seated like civilized individuals." Jim, Amir, and Ward all reclaimed their seats. "As the most senior department head, it is Mr. Vodik's right to present his position first. Mr. Vodik?"

Mr. Vodik, the strange Human geneticist who had surgically altered his features to resemble a Vulcan's, rose to his feet, PADD in hand, and went to stand before the assembly at the lectern. Clearing his throat, he began speaking in an exacting imitation of a Vulcan's dispassionate timbre. "Greetings, visitors. I have not seen many of you since you first arrived here at Anthos." His eyes targeted Spock in particular. "But I have been in close communication with your esteemed passenger Ambassador T'Pang and it was through her that I first learned of your recent misfortune. Though my current discipline may be Xenogenetics, I have worked in many fields in my lifetime, one being Psycho-physiology. I spent years in that discipline, working alongside my colleague the former Dr. Ravi Amir. Dr. Amir, later in his career, became obsessed with the idea of separate psychological and physiological states of being. He believed that a person's psyche could be separated from their body, integrated into another vessel, and remain intact and functional."

"I fail to see how this information can be applied to the current predicament," Spock stated.

"Is the problem not that this Human has the vessel of your wife yet not the psyche?"

Non-Uhura looked none too happy about being referred to in such clinical terms, but she remained quiet; perhaps curious as to where Mr. Vodik was going with his line of logic.

Mr. Vodik continued: "It is no secret that I have made the study of Vulcans and their culture a priority over the years. I have made my flesh a living testament to this. I am well acquainted with the telepathic aspects of Vulcan courtship. According to the late Dr. Amir's theories, it may be possible, Mr. Spock, with a mental connection such as the one you must have with your wife, for you to draw her consciousness into your own mind and subsequently implant it into this vessel." Again he indicated Non-Uhura.

Scotty immediately blurted out the question that had to be on all of their minds. "But what would happen to the consciousness already in this 'vessel'?!"

"Eventually? The same thing which would have happened to this Ravi Amir..." He indicated the young scientist who now sat in sudden, grim silence. "...had my colleague Dr. Amir successfully completed a similar transfer before his death. A complete usurpation."

The great, echoing chamber they were in exploded with noise. It seemed like everyone had something to say in defense of Non-Uhura, in rebuke of Vodik, or both. McCoy himself yelled: "You can't be serious, man! Don't you have any decency?!"

The only ones who did not say anything were Vodik himself, Amir, who remained deathly silent, and Spock, whose stony face did not budge once during the uproar. Vodik held up a hand finally and the voices died down enough for his defense to be heard. "I am not a moralist. I am a scientist. I deal not in ethics, but in sterile computations. I was given a problem and I am simply presenting its most logical solution given the constants and variables with which I was provided."

"Putting aside for one second the unbelievably ludicrous idea that we should consider completely obliterating one being for the sake of another, you're missing at least one other constant in your equation," Jim said. "According to the late Dr. _Harper's_ research, bonds, such as the one to which you were alluding, sever once the two parties exist in separate dimensions."

"Bonds can be damaged, yes. Almost to the point of destruction," Vodik agreed calmly. "But they can never be severed."

"Once connected, always connected..." Ward muttered almost as if to himself.

"What Mr. Vodik says is the truth," Anthos confirmed. "Theoretically, Mr. Spock has the ability, if he so chooses, to draw his bondmate's consciousness into his own vessel and house it long enough to siphon it into a more permanent home."

All eyes targeted Spock to witness his reaction. The Vulcan merely shifted in his seat so minutely as to not be noticed by the casual observer and impassively said: "No, I do not."

"Mr. Spock, I assure you that you can," Vodik insisted. "Dr. Amir's research on the subject was exhaustive. The evidence was conclus-"

"Mr. Vodik," Spock interrupted. "I cannot do what you propose because my wife is not my bondmate." The room went uncomfortably silent at Spock's confession. Even Jim seemed mildly surprised by it. Spock carried on normally despite his shell-shocked audience. "Furthermore, I would not do what you propose because I do not believe that one life can be considered greater than another." Spock's eyes meet Non-Uhura's and the pair shared a look of mutual understanding. McCoy had the distinct impression that the woman had been unsure until that very moment as to whether or not Spock might consider sacrificing her to save Uhura.

Jim turned to Vodik. "You heard the man. Your solution is declined. Lita? What's next?"

Vodik unemotionally gathered his PADD and took his seat while Kajal gestured Amir forward.

"My next most senior department head is Dr. Amir."

Amir remained immobile, staring at a fixed point in front of him as if lost in some persistent memory that would not leave him in peace.

"Rav," Ward whispered, nudging Amir in the side inobtrusively. "You're up."

Amir shook himself and blinked. Quietly, he gathered his own PADD and went to the lectern. Once there, he awkwardly cleared his throat and began. "I've, uh, I've been studying temporal and spatial dimensions for as long as I can remember, though it _is_ Newt who has made the most in depth study of the time field. My specialty is the design and engineering of potentially viable modes of traversing said dimensions."

Sulu sat forward. "You mean time travel?"

"More or less," Amir agreed. "Dr. Harper made a career of studying the discipline. But it was all just theory for him until-"

"Soldé," Jim guessed.

"Exactly," said Amir. "Soldé found a way to jump from one dimensional plane to another and, more over, pick and choose an exact temporal destination if not a precise spatial one."

"So you are saying that Vegas could stipulate _when_ but not _where_ she would arrive?" Chekov cut in. McCoy could almost see the cogs rolling away in the mathematician's mind.

"From what little she told both me and Dr. Harper about her time ship, _Selene_, Soldé could set a spatial destination, but an unpredictable amount of displacement would occur during travel. She would always arrive at a distance from her chosen mark. That distance could be a matter of centimeters or a matter of light years, each was as likely as the other. Dr. Harper postulated that the displacement was caused by the temporal and spatial planes attempting to correct the disruption caused by time travel. He postulated that every being and every object has a certain energy frequency which corresponds with their place and time of origin, and that it is the clashing of incompatible frequencies which causes such disruptions."

Chekov spoke up again while simultaneously making quick notes on his PADD. "Is it your belief that we might be able to pinpoint _this_ Uhura's time and place of origin based upon her energy frequency?"

"That's the theory."

"But even if you known where you're going, how do you intend to GET there?" Sulu asked.

"Unless you just so happen to have a time machine laying around somewhere," Scotty laughed.

"Actually," said Amir. "I do."

"_We_ do," Ward interjected.

Everyone looked shocked, but Kajal looked both shocked _and_ outraged. "Why have you failed to inform the Council about this?"

Ward somehow even _sneered_ with an inordinate amount of smugness. "It wasn't any of the Council's business. They only need to be informed when they're footing the bill. This was our project. Fully funded by yours truly. Well...by a generous bequeathment from the late Dr. Paxton Ward, anyway."

"Besides," Amir added with much more humility. "There's nothing to inform the Council about. It ship doesn't work."

"Yet!" Ward butt in.

"Without Soldé's knowledge or consent, Dr. Harper systematically absconded with the finished schematics for _Selene_. After the first biodome fell, Newt and I found them in his X-Pod." He coughed. "Um, that's an emergency capsule of belongings which is set to automatically eject when a biodome is in crisis."

"We built the ship exactly to specification, except for its space pods," Ward picked up from where Amir had digressed. "But if there's something special about the design, the bitch must have kept it to herself."

"The point is," Amir spoke over Ward, shooting the crass man a chiding frown. "The schematics and the ship are as yet unfinished somehow, and the only person who knows how to amend that is Soldé. Now I recognize that there are a number of factors standing in the way of this plan-"

"Amnesia and banishment of key player, potential mass terror and mayhem should that banishment be revoked, _definite_ mass destruction and death should that banishment be revoked, various assorted dangers of time travel, et cetera, et cetera," Ward listed with a singsong rhythm. "Is it my turn yet?"

Jim and Spock bent their heads together to confer for several seconds before Jim looked up with the verdict. "Dr. Amir, we think your option is viable enough to remain in the running. However...and trust me when I tell you I can't believe I'm saying this...we'd like to hear Dr. Ward's plan before we make our final decision."

"Finally!" Ward gasped loudly as he traded places with Amir. "No offense, Rav, but I was falling asleep there. We'll discuss the finer points of elocution another time, though. For now, watch and learn. Anthos, if you will?" The massive Anthos feed on the screen behind Ward shifted to a moving, technicolor display of the time field. "I took the liberty of preparing a little visual reference. Please, don't be afraid to ask questions along the way." Here, he gave a special wink to Kajal who simply glared. Ward grinned like a wicked Cheshire cat, and produced an old style laser pointer from his front pocket which he wielded in several willy-nilly directions before targeting it at the screen. "What you're seeing is a time-lapse capture I like to call 'Forty-One Days in the Life of the Time Field'. The sixty-fifth edition, give or take. Beyond the self-explanatory visual, I added embellishments along the way to make it simpler for the layman and some tastefully soothing Muzak for ambiance." Here, music began wavering out of the Pavilion's speakers. It sounded like what had to be a pastel, watered-down version of Ward's favorite electronic metal punk fusion record, if that were even possible.

"I've spent the last ten years of my life specifically studying the time field and only one thing remains consistent about it: absolutely nothing. It is completely unpredictable. What happened to your wife for instance?" Ward pointed his laser at Spock. "That freak occurrence had less than .00004% chance of ever taking place! Tough break that, by the way."

"Did you plan to make a point back when you were concocting this little presentation?" Jim sighed.

"Oh, ye of little patience, Captain," Ward tsked. "Good things come to those who open their ears and shut their mouths. The point I was so very eloquently trying to come to is simply this: I want to change that .00004% chance into a 100% chance. I want to recreate the accident thereby reversing its outcome!"

"You just said you can't predict what the bloody time field will do!" Scotty argued.

Ward swiveled his laser pointer and the display on the screen changed so that certain portions of the time field were highlighted with a single color and others were highlighted in another. Then, the separate portions began to shift about the screen erratically. "If you'll all turn your attention to the screen, you will see one of those helpful embellishments I spoke of earlier. As I said, I've been studying the time field for ten years. It wasn't until the ninth year that I made this discovery: Though there is not a discernible rhyme or reason to the time field's activities, there is a finite number of things of which it is capable. Each of these highlighted areas represents a distinctive and measurable area of the field which affects living organisms in its own unique way. These orange portions age the subject, the dark blue de-ages, et cetera and so forth. For a long time now, I've classified the pink areas as having little to no discernible effects. Now I know that the subjects which pass through _those_ are simply exchanged for an extra-dimensional counterpart! Go figure!"

"Wait a minute," McCoy sat forward. "What subjects? You actually exposed living creatures to that field? That kind of testing was outlawed centuries ago!"

"It was just some rats, guinea pigs, the occasional ferret, maybe a tribble now and then. Here at Anthos we honor our assorted rodent brethren's right to be brave little soldiers for the cause," Ward smirked.

"Ferrets aren't rodents," McCoy remarked. "They're mustelids."

Ward waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever, they all squeal the same."

"I think this is as good a time as any to remind everyone of our nondisclosure arrangement," Kajal interjected.

"Anyway, we're off the point. I was trying to explain that with a little strategic planning and some _really_ good timing, we could send _this_ lady home..." Ward pointed at Non-Uhura with his laser. "...and get _your_ lady back!" The laser flicked to Spock.

"You're out of your mind!" McCoy dismissed.

"Certifiable!" Scotty agreed.

"No matter how much you know about what the time field can do, there is no way you can 100% guarantee that you can time that correctly!" Jim stated.

"The statistical likelihood of your plan succeeding is inadvisably low," said Spock.

"The logistics alone are ridiculous!" Sulu ranted.

"And the risk factor is astronomical!" Chekov blurted.

"And I'm the one taking that risk!" Non-Uhura added. "No sir!"

"Well, that settles that," Kajal smirked. "Sit down, Newton."

Ward speared Kajal with a childlike, petulant expression and strolled back to his seat after tossing a singsong "Your loss." over his shoulder.

Kajal ignored him and went on. "I'm afraid we've come to the end of the options available to you. I am truly sorry for your loss, Mr. S-"

"Wait, we still haven't fully rejected Dr. Amir's proposal," Jim interjected. "It could use some fine tuning, but I think he might have something we can go on. Spock, do you agree?"

"Affirmative, Captain. Dr. Amir's plan appears to be the most viable."

"The most viable?" Kajal looked at Jim and Spock as though they had both donned tutus and started expertly executing a pas de deux routine around the table. "Need I remind you both that Dr. Amir's suggestion involves _actual_ time travel?"

"Trust me, the time travel's the least of my worries concerning this plan, Lita," Jim said. "Do you think-"

"No!" Kajal cut him off preemptively.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask!"

Kajal's stony expression did not budge. "You were about to ask me to lift Soldé's banishment."

"Okay, so you _did_ know what I was going to ask, but I still have to ask it. Dr. Harper's formula is working. Vegas couldn't hurt a _tribble_ if she wanted to. I'm sure if we present our case to your Council-"

"That will _not_ be happening," Kajal snapped. "I will not have the citizens of this biodome in an uproar over this!"

Amir straightened up. "With all due respect, Dr. Kajal, me and a few other members of the Council have spoken about this, and I don't think that there will be chaos in the streets at the mere mention of the subject in open session." When Kajal glared bullets at him, Amir coughed nervously. "It...It would be worth a shot, anyway."

"This discussion is useless!" Ward broke in testily. "From what I hear, your girl _'Vegas'_ is practically a vegetable these days. I can't see what use she'd be in that state."

"Where did you hear that?" Jim sneered at the ridiculous man.

"I have my sources. Why don't you just ask her physician, if you don't believe me."

Jim's gaze zeroed in on McCoy. "Bones, is she really that bad off? I mean, I gathered that she's been depressed, but..."

"The formula's main function is to even out Vegas' mood. It achieves that mainly by keeping her sedated to a level at which the more complex brain functions become...a challenge. She's not a vegetable by any stretch of the imagination, but...let's just say I wouldn't recommend that she handle any heavy machinery any time soon. Me and Spock have been working on a fix for some of the formula's more troublesome side effects."

"Bottom line: Will she be able to help with the ship while still on the formula?"

"Bottom line? At this juncture I have to say no. If there's any chance of Vegas regaining her memories, she'd have to be off the formula to do so."

"Let me see if I have this right..." Kajal pinched her nose between two slender fingers. "You're requesting not only that Soldé's _lifetime_ banishment be lifted, but that there also be nothing stopping her from re-committing the horrific act which led to that banishment in the first place? You're all mad!"

"Generally I try to avoid saying this at all costs," Ward said. "But Lita's right. Bringing an unsedated Soldé to IX is a no go. Now, magnanimous soul that I am, I could be persuaded to go forward with my obviously better plan if you ask me nicely."

Ignoring Ward all together, Jim turned to Amir again. "Okay, obviously Vegas on detox is NEVER going to be an option, but I _do_ have some of the most brilliant minds in Starfleet on my team. If you'd be willing to work with my officers, I'm sure we could all come to some solution."

Amir looked around at the impressive assembly of scientists and nodded. "It's worth a shot."

**. . .**

_SPACE - Ogygia, Room 113_

"It's worth a shot." Ravi Amir's face fades from the fair-sized viewing screen of one of Ogygia's many nondescript visitor's quarters and is replaced with the pulsing dot rose bud of the Anthos feed. Sylaak stayed quiet as he let the information he learned shift around in his mind, finding order and meaning in connections and projections.

"After this, the meeting was concluded and all assembled went their separate ways. Would you like to witness their parting words?"

"No, thanks, Anthos. You've been a great help," Mr. Harper said from his perch on the arm of the sofa chair where Koji sat. "Thanks."

Harper typed an intricate sequence of code into the companel which controlled the room's computer components, and the Anthos feed disappeared again, this time leaving behind nothing but blankness. The large screen swept back up into the ceiling from which it had come.

"Dude, one day you're going to have to tell me the story of how you figured out how to hack the feed of a freakin' interdimensional being!" Koji exclaimed to Harper.

"Hack is such an ugly word," young Harper grinned, placing a mock offended hand upon his heart. "I like to think that I lovingly cajoled her into...helping me out on occasion."

"Your Newt side is really showing right now," laughed Koji.

Harper clipped Koji on the shoulder companionably. Koji returned the gesture. Harper repeated his first blow. The pair went on this way, trading swift jabs, until they were giggling and carrying on like a couple of rambunctious chimpanzees. That is, until they noticed, one right after the other, that no one else was laughing with them. In fact, Sylaak joined Jacob, Grayson, and Terryn in staring at them with a look expressly devoid of humor. Harper went quiet. Koji straightened up and cleared his throat self-consciously. "So...that was the meeting the grown-ups had this morning. Any thoughts?"

"I think they have even less of a clue than we do!" Jacob immediately steamed, raking a frustrated hand through his short hair.

"Ditto!" Terryn exclaimed. "I mean, what is WITH that Vodik guy? He got slapped with a branch from the Koo Koo Banana Tree one too many times, if you ask me!"

Grayson, who sat beside Jacob on one of two twin beds in the quarters, did not say anything, but her expression was pinched and stony.

"Each plan was more illogical than the next." Sylaak spoke aloud what was clearly on her mind as he stood to the side with both arms clasped together behind his back. "It is improbable that any one of them should succeed."

"Yeah, but which do you think has the best shot?" Koji prompted, glancing dejectedly at his friends' hopeless faces.

"Ravi's, if they had Vegas," Jacob said instantly.

Almost as quickly, Grayson replied: "Dr. Ward's plan is the most logical."

"Oh snap!" Terryn shouted from where she sat Indian-style on the room's second twin bed.

"Grayson, Ward is a certified lunatic!" Jacob exploded. "He should have an asylum named after him! No plan he comes up with could be a good plan!"

"Hey!" Harper yelled. "That's my...well I don't actually have a word for what he is to me... Suffice to say, you don't know him like I do. He's a good guy, and, in my experience, if he says he can do something it's a fair bet he can. You could do worst than his plan."

Terryn nodded to no one in particular. "Yeah. One word: Vodik."

"If we could just convince our parents to take Vegas off the formula, Ravi's plan has the best shot at succeeding!" Jacob insisted.

"Ah," Terryn said.

"Ah, what?" Jacob asked.

"Ah, you just revealed the _real_ reason why you're so adamant about Amir's plan, Kirk! You want your zombie bondmate to be a real girl again!"

"Seriously, Terryn?" Koji shook his head at the brunette.

"What, Koji? It's true!"

Jacob did not offer up a different side of the argument. He just remained silent and clenched his jaws irritably.

"It doesn't matter if Vegas is off the formula or not," said Grayson, not even glancing at Jacob. "The chances of her remembering how to repair her ship are minimal. The problem is not in finding a way to get _to_ the other dimension, it's in getting my mother back _from_ it. My grandfather always tells me that the most logical way _out_ is the way you came _in_. We must look to the time field to correct a problem _caused by_ the time field." She turned her attention to Harper. "Do you think you could get me in to speak to Dr. Ward so that I can try to convince him to go through with his plan?"

"Piece of cake," Harper said.

Sylaak did not consider Dr. Ward's plan any better than the other two. How could he when there were so many volatile variables? But, he knew that look in Grayson's eyes. She would not be persuaded to a different course. "I will accompany you," he offered.

"Me too," Terryn said. "It's the only lead we've got."

Jacob shook his head back and forth. "I'm sorry, Grayson. I can't go along with this. Ward and I don't mix. If you had chosen ANY plan but his. I mean, I would have even gone to see that creepy Vodik guy."

"I understand," Grayson said in a hard tone which implied the exact opposite.

Koji, perhaps sensing the building tension in the room, spoke loudly into the silence. "Whelp, I'm in!" He stood up. "Time for illegal transporting!"

"It's not illegal," Harper corrected, walking around and placing transporter beacons on everyone in the room - except Jacob, who stubbornly declined one.

"I thought you said it was illegal."

"I said it wasn't allowed," Harper amended. "By Lita, who mistakenly thinks she's the head huncho of the universe. What she don't know won't hurt-"

"You?" Koji cut in with a laugh.

"Exactly!" Harper flashed a Cheshire cat grin.

"How does this work anyway?" Koji asked.

Everyone in the room watched as Harper pulled a sleek-looking PADD out of the messenger bag he had slung around his shoulders. "I built a working transporter at a top secret location in Girdy. It took me nearly a year and a half, but it was epically worth it! Anyway, I created a software program that synched the transporter with my PADD so that wherever I am I can control it. It can transport me to whatever coordinates I want to go to that are in range and, with the use of these beacons, I can command it to bring me - and anything else I attach them to - back again. It's how I snuck out to see Vegas that first night you all got here."

"Awesome!" Koji enthused.

Terryn rolled her eyes. "Geeks..." she mumbled under her breath, and then said in a louder voice: "Can we go now?"

"Last chance, Jacob," Harper said, rapidly typing a sequence of symbols into his PADD.

"No, thanks, I'm good," Jacob frowned. He gave Grayson the briefest of pecks on the cheek. "I hope your plan works. I mean that."

Sylaak did not have time to see if Grayson made a reply before he, along with everyone besides Jacob, were engulfed in shimmering light.

**. . .**

_{**TOS-Verse**} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Captain Kirk's Quarters_

"Captain's Log: Supplementary. With the evacuations at Esidaan successfully completed, I must now turn to the troubling matter of what to do about my communications officer. It has been almost a week since Lieutenant Uhura was mysteriously replaced with an extradimensional counterpart of herself. My crew has not been able to ascertain the cause of this strange phenomenon. The Enterprise has been assigned a mission far away from our current location, but I hesitate to leave this area before we have solved the riddle of our missing officer..." Captain Kirk ended his log and sat back in his desk chair with a brooding expression. This was just one of the many decisions he wished he, as captain, did not have to make.

The door to his quarters chimed. "Come in," he greeted.

He was not expecting to see their new Uhura walk in looking inexplicably determined. "Captain, may I have a word?"

"Of course, Lieutenant, is there anything I can help you with?"

The woman before him took a deep breath. Both her thin hands were balled up into tight fists at her side, and her gaze was unnervingly direct. "Captain, I think the Enterprise should carry on with its standard missions, and...I'd like to offer my services as communications officer."

Kirk stood up, feeling strangely at a disadvantage being seated. "What brought this on?"

The lieutenant's gaze became suddenly evasive. "I...I overheard Mr. Chekov and Mr. Sulu discussing the delay on the new mission. They said you were wavering on whether or not to stay here." Her eyes found his again. "I don't want you to hesitate on my account."

"You know what this means," said Kirk. "You realize that this place may hold the only clues to how you might get back home?"

"Neither Mr. Scott nor Mr. Spock can find any indication of an anomaly in the area which could have been the cause of my predicament. It is my belief that the one thing that can change my situation exists only in the dimension from which I came."

"You believe, then, that you are stranded here?"

Kirk watched as unshed tears welled in the new Uhura's eyes while her expression remained stubbornly determined. "Yes, Captain. That is my belief. Now, I obviously can't provide a resume or references, but I have more then twenty years experience and I know all your procedu-"

"The job is yours, Lieutenant," Kirk interrupted. "Literally."

Uhura inclined her head once. "Thank you, sir."

"Report to the bridge at 0800 tomorrow morning for your first shift. Dismissed."

Uhura nodded once again and exited his quarters.

Despite the agreement he had just reached with the lieutenant, Kirk still found himself pausing before he returned to his desk and said: "Kirk to Bridge."

"_Bridge here. Chekov speaking,_" came the reply.

"Mr. Chekov, plot a course to our next destination. Warp factor 5."

"_Aye, Captain._"

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy, Dimensional Research Hangar_

The first thing Nyota Uhura noticed about the miracle machine that was supposed to get her back home was that it was small. It was built to be a streamlined, two-man vessel with low cargo capacity and retractable wings. As ships went, _Helios_ did not impress her much. Looking around at the gathered collection of older - and she hoped wiser - versions of her fellow crewmembers, she hoped fervently that they knew what they were doing.

"As far as we can tell, _Helios_ is an exact replica of his sister ship _Selene_. Down to his very last bolt. They only things he's missing are the twin space pods we were not able to replicate," Dr. Amir told their assembled group of Enterprise personnel. There were seven of them, including herself. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Chekov, Sulu and Scotty had all come to see the timeship and lend their individual expertise. "He's a multi-purpose vessel with the ability to travel by land, air, sea, space and, ideally, time. Obviously, it's that last part which has been giving us trouble. Please, feel free to study him as you please. The semantics are readily available on every computer in the hangar."

Nyota hung back as all of the scientists, engineers, and ship specialists around her dove in like kids in a candy store. Two crewmembers remained by her side, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy. The captain spoke first. "You know, Uhu- uh, Lieu- um, Mis-"

"Just call me Nyota, Captain," she said, deciding to put the man out of his misery. "You too, Doctor."

The captain seemed more astonished by her gesture than was warranted. "What, really?" he asked, looking behind him as though she might have been speaking to someone else. Dr. McCoy was very obviously holding back laughter.

"Yes, really," she insisted. "What's the problem? It seems silly to have you fumbling for a moniker every time you address me."

"There's no problem," the captain assured her. "You can call me Jim, if you want."

Dr. McCoy thrust out a hand. "Leonard."

Nyota shook the doctor's hand and said to Jim: "Honestly, you'd think a woman had never offered you her given name before."

"Oh, the stories I could tell," Leonard chuckled under his breath.

"Anyway, I was just about to mention that we haven't had the chance to talk more about your living arrangements. We have to prepare for the possibility that all this may take awhile and even..."

"That it may never work?" Nyota guessed.

Jim nodded grimly.

"I'll be perfectly fine in the temporary accommodations you have already provided. As for the long term...well, I'll just have to think about that if it comes to it. Excuse me, gentlemen."

Nyota left the captain and the doctor, and made her way over to where Commander Spock was at a computer poring over _Helios'_ semantics with a fierce, single-minded intensity. She faked a little cough to gain his attention. When he glanced at her, his eyes seemed faraway as though his mind was still busy finishing up the calculations of some equation. "Are you in need of some assistance, Lieutenant?"

"No, thank you, Commander. I simply wished to express my gratitude for sticking up for me earlier during the meeting. I know this must be a difficult time for you and I appreciated your support."

The commander's features did not budge. "I merely stated my personal opinion."

"Well, thank you all the same." Nyota started to step away, but found herself turning back. "Mr. Spock? If you don't mind my asking... How is your daughter holding up since yesterday?"

Mr. Spock seemed almost to hesitate before providing his answer. "I have not found an appropriate time to discuss the recent events with Grayson."

Nyota tried to hide her automatic response, but she could tell that the commander had seen it.

"You disapprove," Mr. Spock stated.

"How did you-" She stopped herself. "Of course...we're married. Listen, I'm not one to meddle in affairs that are none of my business. I'll just butt out now."

Before she could flee, however, Mr. Spock called her back with a firmly-spoken: "Lieutenant."

"Yes, Commander?"

Though unable to guess Mr. Spock's following words by the look on his face - mainly because there _wasn't_ a look on his face, only the usual seriousness - Nyota could honestly say she had expected his next words least of all. "The day Grayson first shed tears was the day that her emotional well-being grew beyond my abilities as a parent to manage it. Since that day, it has been solely under my wife's care. And...recently, the captain has-"

"The captain?" Nyota's eyes darted reflexively over to Captain Kirk, who was currently challenging Mr. Chekov to a game of _Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Vulcan_ while they waited their turn for a tour inside the small ship. She could not help it. She laughed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" She laughed again. "Oh, just please go on."

The commander clasped his arms behind his back, seemingly unmoved by her rude response, and went on as though uninterrupted. "It is a fair postulation that you may have ideas about parenting which are similar to those of my wife."

"I can't tell you what to do, Mr. Spock."

"No," he agreed. "But you may be able to tell me what _she_ would do."

"What would you have me do? I'll help you in any way I can."

"Perhaps you might observe Grayson for yourself, and share with me your opinions."

"I would be honored, Mr. Spock."

**. . .**

_SPACE - Ogygia, Room 113_

Jacob did not wait around to see the last of his friends dematerialize from the room. Instead, he stomped over to the main door and pressed the button to unlock the automatic. The door opened directly and he walked out only to almost stumble over the person sitting just outside. "Vegas!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

The girl did not reply. Her expression remained as blank as ever. She stood up and began slowly pacing toward the admittance chamber down the hall as if sleepwalking. Jacob noted that she had not bothered to change out of her pajamas - the overlarge T-Shirt and drawstring pants he had lent her ages ago and never got back - and that her feet were bare and open to the chill of the sub-zero temperatures of the space station's floor.

Suddenly realizing that he had frozen on the spot where he had first discovered his bondmate huddled on the floor outside the visitor's quarters and realizing that she had moved a ways away from him, more quickly than he had at first thought possible, Jacob called out: "Vegas, wait up!"

Vegas did not stop for him though. She continued on, and had nearly reached the admittance chamber before he caught up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him. "Vegas, stop," he said. He almost let his anger and frustration flow out of him through their link, but held back when he finally saw his bondmate's face. She looked hopeless and lonely and a little broken.

Jacob gathered Vegas into his arms, sinking the fingers of one hand into her tangled hair. She began to weep and clenched the back of his shirt between the fingers of both her hands, probably stretching the fabric beyond repair, but he didn't care. He held on to her until her grip on him finally loosened minutes later, and then let her move away, politely glancing aside to give her time to wipe the tears and snot from her face.

When she was done, he placed his hands on either side of her waist and guided her backwards to a seat on the nearest bench. He toed out of his sneakers, wincing a little as his feet met the icy floor and finding himself thankful that he had chosen to wear socks that morning. Vegas looked on blankly as Jacob knelt down and put his much too big shoes on her much too small feet and tied the laces tightly enough that they wouldn't just slip right back off again. Standing up, he grabbed both her hands and gently tugged her to her feet again. She promptly lost her balance trying the stay standing in his shoes, which looked clownishly large on her. Jacob steadied her with an arm around her waist and, after she had finally got her sea legs, he didn't let go right away. He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding when she allowed him to hold her up and even rested her hands on his shoulders and her forearms on his chest. "So, you were eavesdropping on our little strategy meeting?"

"Yeah," Vegas said, not offering an explanation for her actions.

"What did you think?"

"I thought that Vodik guy was crazier than me."

"You're not crazy," he said firmly.

"Tell that to Terryn," Vegas grumbled sotto voce.

"What's Terryn got to do with it?"

"Nevermind," she said, pushing out of his loose embrace and clomping awkwardly over to Ogygia's ridiculously large port-windows. The planet below was a sickly pale orb of orange-pink swirling cloudface with no visible surface. "I can help Grayson's mom," Vegas said. Her voice was small and he could barely hear her, but he understood.

"I know that," replied Jacob. He walked over to stand beside his bondmate and gazed out at both the planet and the endless stars beyond it. "Though, I'm not sure I can convince anyone else of that."

"I know how to fix that ship. The memory's in here somewhere." She thumped her forehead with her first two fingers roughly, as if angry with herself for having amnesia. "But I can't access any of it when I'm like this."

"Yeah, but I can't just stop giving you the formula. My dad would find out. Dr. McCoy gives you a checkup every few days."

Vegas shifted her wide, violet eyes to his face. "So, tell them what you're doing."

"I've been pleading with my dad for weeks to get you off the formula. He won't listen. Maybe you didn't hear him, but during the big secret meeting this morning he said it would NEVER be an option."

"Then only tell Dr. McCoy."

Jacob ran both hands through his hair in frustration and flopped down onto the bench meant for observing the starscape. "Vegas, telling Dr. McCoy is as good as telling my dad. If I asked him to lie to _Il Douche_, I'd be asking him to disobey his commanding officer, commit treason, and do whatever else Starfleet thinks is a big fat no-no!"

"Okay, let's think about this," Vegas said, sitting down on the bench as well. She was looking more animated and alive than he'd seen her in weeks. It could have been due to the subject matter, but was more likely due to the fact that Jacob had yet to administer the day's hypospray of formula which was tucked away in his pocket even as they spoke about it. He realized, suddenly, just how much he looked forward to these rare lucid moments when she was herself again. "Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock have been tweaking the formula for awhile now, trying to find the combination that doesn't turn me into the living dead." From the way she said the last bit, Jacob could tell that Vegas had heard Terryn's zombie remark and was hurt by it. "You could still give me the formula, but gradually lessen the dosage every day until I'm off it for good. That way Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock will think that any improvement was their doing."

"Yeah, but aren't you forgetting the reason you're on the formula to begin with? There's a planet around here missing almost a quarter of its mass, and a hell of a lot of kids missing their parents." When he saw the shattered look on her face, he reached out and passed a hand over her hair. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so grim, but how do we stop that from happening again?"

"Slap me," Vegas ordered out of nowhere.

"What? I'm not going to slap you! What are you talking about?"

"_Slap me_," she said again. This time something shifted in his mind, like a light switch or more like a mental shove in a direction opposite his natural groove. He couldn't stop himself from pulling his hand back and slapping Vegas across the face. Vegas' hand went to the now bright blue mark on her cheek. "Ow, okay I should have just said 'pinch me.'"

Jacob stared at his hand for a full minute before he moved again, somewhat afraid of what it might do. "What just happened?"

"I mind-controlled you?" Vegas said.

"What? Why? How?"

"I did it to show you that it could be done. You can do it to me, too. I know you can. You can stop me from blowing up. At least long enough to send me far away before I hurt anyone. I can only manage it for a couple of seconds right now, but _before_ I-"

"When, before? Ten years ago, before? Or before the formula, before?"

"Don't be mad," said Vegas. "But it was before the formula, before."

"Apparently I can't be mad now that you've commanded me not to!"

"Look, today was the first time I've done it to _you_."

"But then who...?" A thought occurred to Jacob and he began shaking his head back and forth slowly. "Tell me you didn't... It was Ward, wasn't it? You made him try to kill you. He kept telling everyone that he never intended to do it. He said that again and again. That it was this sudden...purpose that came over him..."

Vegas took one of Jacob's hands in both of hers. "I couldn't make _you_ do it. You wanted to save me too strongly. I can only exaggerate emotions that are already there and manipulate the actions driven by those emotions. He had all the anger, I just had to give him the inclination to get the job done."

"Are you saying I had to want to slap you just now?"

"No, not exactly. You were feeling anger and frustration because I haven't been myself. I just amped that up and directed the action that resulted from the emotion."

"So instead of, say, hitting a wall, I hit you instead?" Jacob conjectured.

"Yeah."

There was still a light mark on her face though it was rapidly fading. Jacob ran the back of his fingers over it tenderly. "Please, don't ever do that again," he whispered. "Both the thing with Ward and this too."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make a point."

"Well, you succeeded. Congratulations," Jacob grumbled. "Wait, you said you can still feel my emotions. I'm just getting fog on my end. Can you still hear my thoughts, too?"

"Only occasionally. And then only when I'm due for a new dose of the formula like I am now." Vegas thrust her arm out at him. "So, what's it gonna be? Are we doing this or not?"

Jacob very deliberately stood up and went to the trash disposal set in the wall to the left. He pulled the hypospray from his pocket and twisted the cover off to reveal the small glass container of red elixir within. Screwing off the top of the little vial, he poured about a quarter of the liquid into the trash, and then replaced both the lid and the hypospray cover. He returned to Vegas, who still had her arm outstretched. "This is going to make you undead again for a little while. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready if you are," she challenged.

Jacob sighed heavily. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he said and administered the shot.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy_

"How much farther is it?" Terryn whined. They had arrived at their "top secret" destination - a small neglected corner of a janitorial storage locker the size of a football stadium - and had to trek their way out of the massive basement room and up many a disused stairwell to avoid security - because they were technically breaking and entering without the breaking part. Presently, they had been walking down hallway after nondescript hallway of the fifth floor for about twenty minutes and Terryn's legs felt like they were about to commit suicide to escape their misery.

"We're almost there," Harp said jovially. The obviously-in-shape bastard had a skip in his step!

"That's what you said after the third flight of stairs!"

"No really, Terryn, we're just a few feet away this time," Koji said with the assurance of someone who had lived in this ridiculous place all his life.

Terryn found herself frowning rather than falling to the floor in sweet relief when Harp stopped in front of a door labeled 'Lab 510' and proclaimed: "We're here! This is Newt's personal laboratory. Ravi and I like to call it his playhouse, though."

Harp knocked upon the door. "Newt! Open up!" No answer came. Harp knocked again. "Newt!" The door finally flew open, but it was not Dr. Ward who was standing behind it. In lieu of the tall, freckle-skinned, ginger-haired, crazy-eyed doctor, there was a tall, pale-skinned, dark-haired, smoky-eyed Vulcan girl.

The Vulcan's face was so controlled, Terryn barely saw it move as the girl delivered a message: "Dr. Ward asked not to be disturbed."

Harp appeared to barely register the girl's words. "Trust me, T'Lale, he'll want to see these guys." When Harp tried to go pass, however, the Vulcan girl, T'Lale, blocked his path. "Okay, remember when I told you that there are times when you don't have to take everything Newt says so seriously? This is one of those times. Don't worry. You won't get dismissed for letting me in."

"Oh, yes, she will!" Newt's voice sounded from inside the lab before the man opened the door wider and popped his head out the door next to T'Lale's. "Who are you to be turning my apprentice against me, Harpie? I should have you written up for that!" The gleam in his eyes told Terryn that the man was either joking or a maniacal bastard. It was a toss up, really. "So what's this here, then?" Dr. Ward motioned at the assembled group outside his door. "A traveling circus troupe?"

"They're here to see you," Harp said. "This is Grayson, Sylaak, and Terryn." He pointed out each of them in turn. "They're Koji's friends. Guys, this is Dr. Newton Ward, resident time field specialist and T'Lale, his very serious apprentice."

"Actually, young Mr. Sylaak and I are old friends. I almost killed him once. It was a riot. You should have been there," Dr. Ward smirked in Sylaak's direction. "And you can all call me Newt. Or just Ward. Harpie, here, told you my full name just to annoy me." Harp and Ward each threw snarky grins at one another before Ward sauntered away from the door, tossing a "Let them in." over his shoulder for the still stolid-faced T'Lale's sake.

The Vulcan girl moved aside, watched them all enter, and then locked the door behind them. "Time field specialist, eh?" Ward was saying as they all trooped further inside. "You wouldn't happen to have hacked a feed of yet another confidential meeting, would you, Harpie? Come here! What did I tell you about that, young man?" Ward grabbed Harp around the neck and noogied him hard. That done, he kept his arm around Harp's shoulders and stage whispered: "So, what did you think about my presentation? Better than Rav's, right?"

"Boys," Terryn muttered, rolling her eyes. While the male bonding was going on Terryn tuned it out and instead took a look around the lab. It was kinda small compared to some of the other labs she had seen on the tourist tour of Girdy, but it was impressive, nonetheless. It was like every shiny instrument a mad scientist slash twelve year old boy could ever wish for, crammed into a long, narrow room with a huge, second-story loft area above about a quarter of the room. Terryn thought she could spy a small makeshift living area up in the loft, but she couldn't be certain from her poor vantage point. She started to sneak toward the stairs only to be intercepted by five feet ten inches of solid Vulcan. "That area is off limits for visitors," T'Lale said.

"Are you an apprentice or a bouncer?" Terryn raised an eyebrow.

"I am whatever I need to be for the scientist to whom I have been assigned," said T'Lale, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well, good luck with that," Terryn smiled insincerely, and attempted to move pass only to be stopped again, this time more forcibly. "Hey!"

All at once, a hand fell upon her shoulder from behind and Sylaak was at her ear with a cautioning whisper. "A needless confrontation would be counterinuitive at this juncture."

"You are Sylaak," T'Lale stated. "I am acquainted with your mother, Ambassdor T'Pang."

Sylaak appeared confused by T'Lale's words. At least, that's what Terryn gathered from his gently knit brow. "She did not inform me of any such acquaintance."

T'Lale's face remained expressionless and enigmatic as she replied: "I would not expect her to."

Before Sylaak could ask what she meant by that, all of their attentions were snared by Ward's next words. "So, what's this all about anyway? I know you're probably not here to commend me on my sparkling wit and general awesomeness with regards to public speaking, though I wouldn't exactly be surprised if you were."

Grayson stepped forward and Sylaak immediately walked over to stand at her side. Terryn and T'Lale looked at one another once and then joined the group. "My mother is the one who has been switched. I asked Harp to bring me here so that I could see if you could be persuaded to continue with your plan to reverse the time field scenario."

"Wait a second, your dad's Spock?"

Grayson nodded.

"Wow, tough break, kid. Sorry, though. I can't help you," Ward said, and started to walk off.

As Ward's back was now turned, he could not see the look in Grayson's eyes. Terryn now watched the proceedings with gleeful anticipation.

"First," Grayson said, going around to stand in Ward's path. "I am not a _kid_. Second, that will be the last time you insult my father in my presence. Third, you _can_ help me. You simply _won't_. There is a difference."

Ward glanced away from Grayson to grin at Harp. "I like this one. She's got spunk!" His crazy-eyes then swivelled back to Grayson. "I still can't help you, love. Unless you can convince Lieutenant New-hura to be my dare devil guinea pig, my plan's a bust."

"Leave her to me," said Grayson. "How soon can you be ready to go once I get her on board with the plan?"

"Sheesh, you're not gonna roofie her, are you?"

"How soon?" Grayson demanded.

"About a month or so, give or take. That's when the time field's due to enter its Slow Season."

"What's the Slow Season?" Koji asked, inexplicably joining them from the loft. Inexplicably, because Terryn could not recall when he had left the group in the first place. Terryn narrowed her eyes at the nonchalant way he trotted down the stairs with a bag of chips in his hands that he had not had before their arrival. Neither Ward nor his Super Vulcan Apprentice seemed at all perturbed that Koji had apparently been rooting through their food stash uninvited. Terryn crossed her arms in annoyance.

"The Slow Season, Koji-chan, is the small window of time - about three to four days max every six months or so - when the time field moves at a 26% slower rate. It's our best shot, and since we've only got the one...well you see why waiting is the best option. Besides, we still have to see if Little Miss Grayson, here, has what it takes to get us New-hura."

"She'll be ready when you are," promised Grayson.

Ward grinned so widely he showed all his teeth. "This one I like. This one can stay. Koji, tell your little boyfriend Jakey-Poo to copy her notes. He'd get to the top of the class in no time at all."

"Actually, he's _her_ little boyfriend," Koji corrected around a mouthful of chips, indicating Grayson with the bag.

Ward turned to Grayson with a face full of over-dramatized dismay. "Oh, say it ain't so! Let it not be true!" Then, straightening up, he asked: "Seriously, how much would I have to pay you to get you to dump him while I look on with glee and sweet, sweet vindication?"

Grayson did not dignify Ward's display with a response. "Just be ready when the Slow Season starts," she commanded. "And one more thing, don't tell anyone what we're going to do."

"Ooo, I feel like I've fallen in with the mob! How scandalous! Should I alert the proper authorities immediately or ride it out and see what marvelous places it could take me? Decisions, decisions..."

"Don't worry," Harp said. "He won't tell a soul. He's just putting on a show for all these new people. He can't help himself really. He's a child." The last bit was spoken directly at Ward who stuck out his tongue.

"And these are supposed to be the big damn heroes," Terryn muttered to herself. She shuffled nearer to Koji. "Hey, gimme a chip, Sulu."

"No can do. That was the last of it," Koji replied and crumbled up the empty bag.

**. . .**

_{**TOS-Verse**} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Arboretum_

The crew was gripped with a dutiful frenzy, out of the ship's many port-windows one could glimpse countless white streaks of light against an unmoving darkness, and the walls, floors and ceilings thrummed with a purposeful energy. The Enterprise was on the move. In the arboretum, Spock paused to observe the fresh yellow blooms of a tea rose plant as he reflected on the moment he had received the captain's orders to prepare to disembark. He had experienced an unaccountable surge of emotion in that moment; an emotion he could trace back to only one source. Mainly, because _she_ was never very far from his thoughts of late. He could admit that much without compromising himself. His mind had become a disorderly room cluttered with thoughts of _her_; a stray bit of her draped over every surface, every small step a hazard. Spock shook himself from his musings and paced further down one of the arboretum's many winding paths. He had only to attend to his neglected meditations. That was the solution logic dictated.

Not ten steps into a curving bend in his chosen path, Spock discerned a sound he would not have recognized a mere week ago yet now seemed unable to forget. He had first heard it on the day _she_ arrived, after he had seen her to her quarters. For no reason he could fathom - neither then nor now - he had lingered outside her door that day after taking his leave from her and that is when he had first heard it; her very outward, very Human expression of what Spock had come to understand was her utter loneliness. The sound had planted itself in his mind and taken root. He could not mistake it. And so now, arrested at a fork in the path, he was hearing that hopeless sound again somewhere on the path which led away to his right. Spock glanced to his left, to the path which would lead him to his favored meditation spot next to the soothing sound of the running waters of the fountain near the back. He even made five solid paces in that direction before stopping again and turning back.

When he found her she was a blaze of fiery red tucked away amid the surrounding greenery in an alcove set away from the the main walkways. She sat on a metal garden bench, clutching her arms around her waist and physically shaking with the force of her sobs. He was approximately three feet away from her when she at last noticed him. Her puffy, wet eyes darted in his direction with some surprise, and he found himself coming to a halt. "Lieutenant," he greeted. Hesitating only a moment longer, he recited a phrase which he had witnessed his father saying to his mother more times than he could enumerate: "Could I be of service to you?"

Without another word spoken between them, her face crumbled and she began to cry anew. Her reaction was one he had not anticipated. He silently debated whether or not to turn back around and leave. He was right on the point of doing just that when she called out a soft: "Please!" When he set eyes on her again she was hastily wiping away her tears and gazing at him imploringly. "Please," she said again. "If...you wouldn't mind...could you just...sit here with me?"

"As you wish, Lieutenant." Spock inclined his head, walked carefully over, and sat down on the bench beside her.

"Please...Call me Nyota."

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy, Lab 510_

"Bye, Newt. Thanks for your help, bro." Koji tossed the goodbye over his shoulder as he followed Grayson, Sylaak, Terryn, and Harp out of Newt's Playhouse. They had spent the better part of the afternoon there discussing their plans for The Grand Uhura Swap over pizza and waffles - Newt's favorite food combo.

"Go on, get out of here, you rascals. Before your parents come looking for you," Newt hollered after them in a spot-on impersonation of a crotchety old man shooing neighborhood children off his lawn. Harp and Koji shared a laugh at that, though their three companions still failed to grasp Newt's signature brand of humor.

Ten paces down the next hallway on their way back to Harp's illegal transporter, Koji let himself lag behind the others and then came to a complete halt altogether. "Hey, guys, I forgot something. Go on without me."

Terryn glared as she had been doing a lot that day.

Grayson seemed mildly suspicious.

Sylaak's expression did not change, unsurprisingly.

"Whatever it is, I can grab it for you later." Harp gave him a look that plainly read: 'Don't leave me alone with these guys.'

"No, I can get it. Besides, I can leave out the front door of this place. I actually have clearance to be here," he said, waving his guest security pass in the air for all to see. He sent Harp a look which he hoped read: 'I'll owe you big for this.'

Harp nodded subtly and turned to everyone else. "All right, let's get out of here. The longer we stand around, the more we risk someone seeing us."

His friends all moved along, though Terryn lingered a bit longer than the others as though she was debating whether or not to stage an interrogation. In the end, she simply muttered a "See you, Sulu." at him and went along with everyone else.

Koji watched them all go until they took their next turn and disappeared from his sight. Then, he retraced his steps about three meters and ducked down a side corridor. He did not even have to think much about his route anymore. He could find the room he was looking for in his sleep from any point in Girdy. Mostly, because the only direction he had to go was up.

He had first discovered it out of pure hacker's curiosity. He had wanted to know everything about how Anthos worked and, since Girdy was the seat of Anthosian power - literally as well as figuratively-, Koji had begun here. It had been only too easy to acquire one of the sleek, top-of-the-line Personal Access Display Devices that every citizen of IX carried on their person at all times. Since every electronic device on IX was powered by Anthos, the PADDs were all connected to one another and each one was a main line into the central networking hub. Koji could have hacked IX's network while blindfolded and juggling flaming torches!

After that, every system in Anthos was his to scrutinize at will. He studied the communications, the life support systems, the security feeds, basically anything he had even a passing interest in. The system which had intrigued him the most was the Anthos-run power network. It worked in such a way that Anthos siphoned from the sun whatever power was needed to work IX's day-to-day operations. Anthos was basically a massive incorporeal generator with a near unlimited capacity for producing power!

Koji had gleefully studied IX's power grid and found much of what could be expected. The completely ludicrous number of laboratories Girdy contained drew the bulk of the stolen solar energy. Next were IX's entertainment centers like its massive hologrids and its food courts and amphitheaters. Then, general gathering places like government and public works buildings, hospitals and schools. However, one inexplicably large drew on Anthos' power remained a mystery to Koji. In the generally unassuming block of high-rise apartments and big-wig offices which made up the topmost stories of Girdy, one miniscule spot on the grid was drawing more power per minute than Girdy's largest lab drew in the busiest hour of the day. And it was doing so nonstop twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week! The question had not been _if_ Koji was going to check it out for himself, it had been _when_.

The prime opportunity had presented itself about a month ago when Koji had been invited, along with a select group of the Enterprise's student body, to one of Girdy's many annual youth science and technology expos. Ditching Sylaak and Grayson, the only other Enterprise students he knew who had also been invited, was child's play. Dodging Anthos security and finding a covert route to his well-protected destination had been the tricky part. But, he had managed. And, in the end, he had found more than he had bargained for.

Koji dove behind a massive pillar just in time to avoid a security guard in all black coming up the hallway in his direction. He was just two doors away from his goal. Koji waited, holding his breath as the guard passed his hiding place and went down another hallway. He glanced up at the camera hooked up to the ceiling above his head, the light was still off much to his relief. He only had a minute or so before the security system discovered and self-repaired the glitch he had programmed into it which caused every camera on this floor to temporarily shut down and run diagnostics on themselves. Checking to see if the coast was clear and finding the way thankfully unfettered, Koji made a mad dash for the third door down on the right side of the hallway. He did not have to hack his way into this door as he had on his first visit. The scanlock at the door recognized his handprint, and let him in. Koji ducked in quickly and firmly closed the door behind him.

The apartment foyer he found himself in was utterly still, and the lighting was set to a low energy-saving level. The only sign of life was the far off boom of bass-heavy music emanating from further within the spacious apartment. Koji would not have needed the music for a guide anyway. He knew where to go. He walked to the end of the foyer where it met the largest set of rooms in the apartment; the living-area-slash-kitchen. Then, he turned left and went down the short hallway which led to the other rooms. The closer he came to the room he was aiming for, the louder the music became and the more he could feel the vibrations of it in the floor behind his feet. Almost tripping over the thick power cord snaking under the door, he let himself inside, already knowing from previous experience the futility of trying to knock went the music was this loud.

The bedroom was a large, open-feeling rectangular space. Its openness had much to do with the fact that the entire wall opposite the door was a tinted window with a mind-blowing view of the biodome, including the main city where they were, the surrounding water, and little, glinty glimpses of at least two of the much smaller docking port cities near the dome's edge. As furniture went, the room had a big, pillowy bed tucked in one corner, a set of dressers along the walls and couple of giant, fluffy pillows masquerading as chairs thrown around in the center willy nilly. The room was also messy. Clothing was strewn over every surface, piles of every kind of drive-card imaginable littered every free space, and what room was left on the floor was covered by loop upon loop upon loop of the inch-thick power cord which meandered about the entire room before ending at the shut door of the adjacent bathroom. Koji, recognizing the one door in the apartment that he did not have official authorization to barge through whenever he so chose, began to take a seat on one of the overstuffed pillow-chairs on the floor.

However, before his butt hit the cushion, the bathroom door sprang open and out danced the apartment's sole occupant. Aidan Pierce was a whirlwind of skinny, olive-toned limbs as she held her tricorder up to her mouth and belted out the lyrics to the song that was still playing so loudly the foundation was shaking. That is, until she saw Koji standing awkwardly in the middle of her room. She ground to a halt mid twirl with a deer in the headlights expression on her face, her normally neat chin-length brown hair messily tousled and somehow still looking amazing. "Music off," Aidan commanded, though Koji could really only guess her words with some very amateur lip-reading. The music stopped, leaving a gaping silence in its wake. "Oh my God, can we pretend you didn't just see me doing that?"

"Only if you promise to forget that you kicked my ass the first time I broke into your house," Koji tried to bargain.

"I just hit you in the head with a spatula! And I apolo-" Aidan ceased her rushed explanation when she saw the devious look on Koji's face. She promptly shoved him in the chest with an embarrassing lack of the strength she actually had at her disposal. "You're just trying to mess with me again!"

"It's just so easy!" Koji laughed. He held out his hand to take the makeshift mic from her hand. "Here, lemme see that tricorder. I'll get started."

Aidan stood patiently still as Koji made a complete circle around her whilst waving the medical instrument around and taking a reading of her health status. When he was done, he took out his Anthos PADD, wirelessly synched the devices, and uploaded the tricorder reading to the PADD's encrypted personal databank. While he worked, Aidan watched his every move as though he were either a fascinating specimen at a zoo or the most interesting person alive. He had found, over the course of their acquaintanceship, that he could be alright with either option as long as her dark green eyes continued to light up every time she saw him. "What took you so long today, anyway? I thought you weren't coming!"

"I got held up," Koji explained. "A friend of mine needed some help."

"Are they going to be all right?"

"It's...complicated," Koji hedged. "Now I need a reading without the plug."

Aidan backed away with something like fright in her eyes. "But..."

"We talked about this," Koji reassured her. "All signs indicate that you'll be okay unplugged. At least for a short while and that's all I need." He stepped closer. "Come on, don't you trust me?"

"You know I do, but..." Aidan wavered. "My mom said-"

"Your mom's wrong. Look, Aidan, I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you. I promise," Koji said.

Aidan squeezed her eyes shut childishly. "You do it. I can't."

Koji stepped even closer to her and, hesitating for only a few seconds, grabbed the hem at the right side of her over-long, purple, peasant blouse and pulled it up, inch-by-inch to reveal first smooth, unblemished skin and then a hard metal socket surrounded by unsightly scarring that sat midway up her torso. Plugged into that socket was the thick, black power cord which was keeping her chained within the walls of this apartment. As soon as his fingers touched the plug, Aidan reflexively grabbed his hand to stop him. "Hey, look at me," Koji said. "Look me in the eyes." Aidan complied. Her grip loosened incrementally until she let go completely. "Breathe," he instructed. Aidan took a deep breath and, before she had let it all the way out again, he pulled her plug.

"Okay, go ahead," said Aidan.

Koji grinned. "It's already done."

"What?!" Aidan looked down and saw the power plug in Koji's hand. "Oh my God! I'm not dead! Ah!" Without warning, she sprinted across the room and back again. She executed a spirited leap into the air and a couple of cartwheels for good measure. "AhahaHA! I'm so free! Ah! You," she shouted, running at him. Koji almost cowered, but she slowed down just before reaching him and threw her arms around his shoulders. "You're incredible!"

Koji mock-leered. "And I didn't even do anything yet. Anyway, I don't get it. You've danced around _before_."

"Yes, but I always have to pay for it with hours and hours of detangling!" She let go of Koji and spun around a few times.

"Alright, I hate to ask you this, but..." He held up the tricorder. "I gotta get this reading."

Aidan stopped moving around reluctantly. She squirmed and fidgeted all throughout the examination though he tried to make it as quick as possible. "There. Done," he announced when he was finished. She instantly jumped away and did another cartwheel.

"How much longer do I have?" Aidan asked whilst doing a series of pirouettes.

"Probably just a few minutes, but I'd rather not test my guesstimation prowess on it. Especially with you expending so much of your energy right now." He approached her, plug in hand.

"Wait," she gasped. That was all the warning he received before she leapt into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. He almost tumbled backward, landing them in a heap on the floor, but he managed to keep his balance and support her weight. The kiss she gave him then was a stark contrast to her aggressive maneuver. It was a gentle, sweet press of lips that he wished would go on forever. Unfortunately, it ended a lot sooner than that. Aidan dropped down from his arms, and stooped to pick up the plug he had let slip from his hand due to the sudden surprise girl in his arms. "Alright, now I'm ready," she said, handing him the plug and lifting the side of her shirt until the socket showed again. "Go ahead."

Koji replaced the plug in something of a daze.

Aidan's eyes fell to the floor and she began wringing her hands, once more the sorta shy, kinda awkward girl he had come to know. "Okay, don't laugh," she said. "But that was my first kiss."

"Wow," said Koji. "You don't do things by halves, do you?"

Aidan looked up at him through her eyelashes, even more insecure than before. "Was it bad?"

Koji captured her hands in his to stop her from torturing her fingers further. "It was the polar opposite of bad. It was amazing."

"Really? Do you want to do it again?"

Koji pretended to think. "Hmm...I'm trying to find a word that beats 'yes'."

"Oh, shut up," Aidan laughed and gave him another lingering kiss. And then another. And another. They were occupied thus when a short, shrill ringing chimed over the sound system. Aidan abruptly shoved Koji in the chest again, except this time she forgot to hold back on her true strength, and he went down flailing, knocked clear of his feet. "Oh my God, I am so sorry. But you have to hide! Now! That was the proximity alarm that warns me when my mom's here! Quick, get in the closet!" She effortlessly pulled Koji to his feet, hustled him into her walk-in closet, and slammed the door behind him.

Koji tried to breathe shallow breaths and not make a peep even though he was having trouble stopping himself from geeking out about the fact that he was currently living out one of his favorite classic movie scenarios: the ever popular 'hiding from a girl's parents in her bedroom.' He was valiantly attempting not to giggle like the fanboy he was when a voice from the other room slapped the smile right off his face.

"Nadia, what happened?" The unmistakable voice of Lita Kajal shouted. "The grid alarm showed that your power had gone offline!"

"I unplugged," Aidan - or was she really Nadia? - said in a small voice.

"What? Why would you do something like that? Anything could have happened! You could have died!"

"I didn't!" Aidan weakly defended herself. "Besides, it was only for a moment."

"Only a moment? _Only_ a moment? A moment _more_ could have killed you! If you run out of power, you _will_ die! I cannot stress that enough!"

"I know, Mama. I'm sorry."

"Promise me you will never EVER do that again."

"I promise. But, Mama, it's been weeks since you last visited. I've been wanting to talk to you about all the new innovations in the field of cybronetics. There's this new up-and-comer, Dr. Tsung. She's not one of ours, but you could change that. I think her experiments with the compact storage of high quanities of power could really help me-"

"Help you _what_?" Koji didn't even _know_ Dr. Kajal all that well and he could still recognize her tone. It was her dangerous one which meant that the next words that came out of the other person's mouth better be selected wisely.

"Help me go outside," Aidan answered so softly that Koji almost missed it.

"So _this_ is why you took that foolish risk today! I might have known there was something behind it! I'm suspending your PADD privileges for a month."

"But, that's not fair!"

"I have to do something to make you understand the fragility of your condition! I already knew about Dr. Tsung's experiments. I looked into it, and found that it didn't fit our situation. You have to know that I tirelessly study every such lead so that I can find something to help you! For ten years, I've left nothing to chance, no stone unturned! So believe me when I say that there is nothing that can be done for you!" Aidan's breath hitched audibly and she began to cry. Koji wanted nothing more than to jump out of the closet and defend her, but he knew it would only make matters worst. "And if the information you're receiving from this PADD is getting your hopes up and making you take dangerous risks... Well, you should just be thankful that I would find it too cruel to take this for good. Now, I have a meeting to attend which I postponed to come here. I hope you have learned your lesson?"

"Yes, Mama."

"Good. I will come visit again when I can. There are many new developments around IX that I'm sure you'll find very interesting. Goodbye, my precious one."

"Bye, Mama."

Koji heard a door close, but remained in his hiding place until Aidan came and opened the closet door. They spent a long time not looking at each other and not saying anything. Aidan had stopped crying, but she still sniffled a little every now and then. By unspoken consent, they each grabbed a pillow-chair and dragged it over to sit facing the view of the city. Ten seconds ticked by before Koji burst out with: "Your mom's _Lita Kajal_?"

"Yes," was Aidan's meek reply.

"And your name's _Nadia_?"

"No," she almost snapped. "It's Aidan now. Nadia is someone I used to be. She died ten years ago, and I've accepted that she's never coming back. My mom's the one who can't let her go."

Koji sighed, reached into his messenger bag, got out his Enterprise PADD, and solemnly passed it to Aidan. "Here, keep it. She won't be able to track your usage of this. The password is the number '2' and the word 'infinity' in all lowercase. If you get any messages just ignore them. I'll tell me friends I lost it."

Aidan stared at his gift in awe. "I can't take your PADD. You love this thing. You've had it since you were a kid."

"It's cool. I have two now, remember?" He held up his Anthos PADD for her to see. "Now I have a little bit of Anthos and you have a little bit of the Enterprise. Fair trade."

Aidan leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Just so you know, I'm going to prove her wrong," Koji promised. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

Aidan said nothing; just turned to stare out across the massive man-made home that she had only ever known from second-hand accounts and the view from her window.

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701_

"What the hell's taking Sulu so long? I thought he was supposed to be meeting us here! For the caper!"

"Koji never said he'd meet us, and it is _not_ a caper," Grayson chided Terryn. "Computer, locate passenger Nyota Uhura," she spoke into the mic at her family's computer desk. When the ship's computer had chirped the lieutenant's location, Grayson's shoulders slumped. "She is still on Anthos."

"Explain to me again how this is not a caper," said Terryn. "We're sitting here waiting to get the jump on some poor woman from another space and time so we can ask her to risk her life for our cause. I'd say that has 'caper' written all over it."

"We are not 'getting the jump on her'. We're just going to speak with her. Reason with her. In fact, _I_ am just going to speak with her. I do not want to scare her off and doom the plan from the very start."

"Are you listening to yourself speak?" Terryn exclaimed to Grayson. Turning to Sylaak, she reiterated, "Is she listening to herself speak? Help me out here!"

Sylaak merely reposed on the couch, his expression giving away nothing of what he might be thinking about the events which had led them to such a point of ambiguous morality.

"Oh, come on, Sylaak! Now we're not even INVITED to the Crazy Caper! Tell her she's off her noodle. You know you're the only one she'll listen to."

Sylaak looked at Grayson as he replied to Terryn. "It is _her_ mother's life at stake. Therefore, it is _her_ choice."

"Ugh!" Terryn huffed and rose from her seat on the couch beside Sylaak. "I'm missing replicated barbecue night with my dad for this! I'm outta here. Message me if you succeed in getting New-hura on board with this bonkers assisted suicide plan." With that, she stormed out.

The silence was strained after Terryn's departure. In an effort to fill it, Grayson turned back to the computer and repeated her inquiry about the imposter again. This time, the computer's smooth "voice" informed them all that the imposter had returned to her quarters on the Enterprise.

Grayson sighed and got to her feet. "I'll take it from here," she told Sylaak.

Sylaak rose as well. "I could still accompany you, if you wish," he offered. "My mother is having dinner with Dr. Vodik at Anthos, and I declined to join them."

Grayson considered Sylaak's offer carefully. She wanted him there with her when she approached to imposter, but she knew that she felt that need on a purely selfish level. She did not want to face this woman who both was and was not her mother alone. "No," she decided at last. "I think this is something I have to on my own."

Sylaak nodded and headed for the front door without further protest. "I wish you success in your venture."

"Wait," she said. Sylaak rested his intense gaze on her again, forcing her to acknowledge, not for the first time, the fact that she never felt so utterly exposed as when she was the target of those keen grey eyes. "What do you really think about all this?" she made herself say.

Sylaak did not answer immediately. In fact, he remained quiet so long that she thought he might intend to leave her guessing after all. However, something made him speak at last. "I think the variables of this plan are too numerous and the odds are not in our favor. Also..." By the way he hesitated, Grayson knew that she was probably not going to like whatever he had to say, but she had to know what he thought.

"Also what?" she prompted.

"Terryn is correct. This woman...your mother's counterpart... She will be the one risking everything in this venture. Be sure that you do not let yourself forget that."

Though his eyes showed no judgement, Grayson felt shame wash over her all the same. However, she quickly shut it out before it could overwhelm her and/or damage her resolve. She drew herself up stiffly and met Sylaak's dispassionate gaze with one of her own. "You're right, I had best be as persuasive as possible when I approach her about the plan."

Grayson did not know if there truly was disappointment in Sylaak's expression or if she had imagined it, but either way she found herself relieved when he merely nodded to her and departed.

Steeling herself with a short, calming breathing exercise, Grayson left her family's quarters, and, in a matter of minutes, found herself facing down the closed door of the imposter's guest quarters. _What am I doing?_, she thought, apprehension suddenly gripping her despite all of her attempts at affected bravado. She was mere seconds away from fleeing the scene when the door slid open unexpectedly and she was all at once face-to-face with the galling and heartbreaking visage of her mother's extradimensional facsimile.

"I thought I heard someone out here," the imposter said, gentle amusement making her voice light and friendly. Words failed Grayson, and she was left quietly gaping. As her silence wore on, the imposter's brow knit with quiet concern. "Are you all right, Grayson? Do you need me to fetch someone? Your father? Or perhaps the captai-"

"No, ma'am," Grayson breathed, at last finding her voice. "I just... It's just that..." She faltered again as everything she had meant to say blew away like dust in the wind. The resolve which had been sustaining her since her decision to attempt Dr. Ward's plan crumbled under the weight of emotion that was settling over her, making it hard breathe and think. _I am stronger than this_, she told herself thrice, fiercely; a mantra to stave off the tears gathering in her eyes. Her fists balled up, nails biting at the palms of her hands. But, none of it was enough. The tears came anyway.

The imposter made a soft, soothing sound, and stepped forward to envelop Grayson in an embrace that was both too strange and too familiar for words. "It's all right," the woman murmured. She pulled away, yet kept a comforting arm around Grayson's shoulders. "Come in, child," she said, guiding Grayson inside. "I'll get us some tea."


	3. Breaking The Habit

**A/N**: Woohoo, I finished this episode in time to post it before my birthday on Monday! The big 2-8, ya'll! :D Also, the fact that this installment heavily involves a character's birthday is a weird and unrelated coincidence.

**Episode Three - Breaking The Habit**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Kirk Family Quarters_

Jacob awoke from one of the most restful slumbers of his life, blinked at his surroundings and muttered a soft curse. "Not again," he groaned.

The alien girl beside him rolled over to look at him with barely-open violet eyes. She didn't even bother speaking aloud. _This makes three times you've 'accidentally' bunked in my room. Whereas, I've only gone to __**yours**__ two times. It's official. I win._

_I maintain that that time we fell asleep on the couch should be counted in __**your**__ total_, Jacob thought at her.

_Whatever makes you feel better, Hubby._

_I have GOT to be sleepwalking, because I honestly can't remember how I keep ending up here_. Jacob shook his head at the ceiling. _I go to sleep in my bed and I wake up here._

Vegas sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Jacob watched as she shrugged into her pale, purple, house robe. _Well, you better sleepwalk right back to your room. I'm expecting company._

Jacob snorted and joked aloud: "What, are you and Terryn back on again?"

Vegas' gaze became evasive, and her expression darkened. The emotion he felt rolling off her was...guilt. Jacob frowned. "It's a check-up day," Vegas said, side-stepping his question. "Dr. McCoy will be here any minute."

"Vegas," Jacob said slowly. "What happened between you and Terryn?"

"Nothing," she insisted, but her continued guilt was like a ginormous red flag with the word 'LIE' scrowled over it in bold caps.

"I call B.S. It's been over two weeks since Terryn has bugged me to be let in to visit you, and every time I bring her up lately you change the subject." Vegas kept stubbornly silent. Jacob got out of bed himself and walked over to the door to their shared bathroom. "Fine, but whatever happened...today would be a good day to squash it."

"Why's that?"

"It's her birthday and she's coming here for breakfast," he said, ducking out of Vegas' room just as the sound of the front door chime signalled that they had company. He preceded to take the quickest shower possible and get dressed in record time. He was now becoming an expert at avoiding his father's suspicions that he and Vegas were sharing beds again. It was all about operating as though he and his alien bondmate were on completely different schedules that had little chance of coinciding. He picked up his PADD and quickly checked his messages before grabbing the gift he'd had made for 'Terryn Day', as the birthday girl had been calling it, and exitted his quarters as nonchalantly as possible. In the common area, Jacob found his dad conversing with Terryn about the gift he had given her: a pop art poster which consisted of nine different brightly-colored squares of Terryn's face.

"How'd I do?" _Il Douche_ wanted to know.

"You done good, Jimbo. This one is definitely in the running."

Jacob snorted as he placed his PADD on the coffee table. "Jimbo?"

_Il Douche_ shot him a warning look.

"It's a Terryn Day tradition that I get to choose a nickname to call Uncle Jim for the day." The girl beamed at his father. She was wearing an over-the-top, shiny, faux tiara over her brown locks, a garish, lime-green feather boa draped over her shoulders, and incongrously tame platinum necklace with a little, glittering, purple gem on the end of it.

Jacob shook his head fondly. "So, what's this 'running' you speak of?" he asked, tossing his small gift into Terryn's eager hands.

"Every year on Terryn Day, whoever gives me the best gift gets to possess the official Badge of Awesome until next year's T-Day," Terryn explained whilst ripping the wrapping off his gift with manic glee. She threw the lid off the box within and gasped when she saw the present it contained: a 'Captain Terryn E. McCoy' nametag complete with a little Starfleet insignia. "Aw, Kirk! You shouldn't have!" Terryn said even whilst immediately pinning the nametag to her shirt. She looked at his father with solemn eyes. "Captain Jimbo?"

"Yes, Captain McCoy?" _Il Douche_ played along.

"You've got some stiff competition this year."

Jacob's dad evaluated him with a mock critical once-over. "I think I can handle him."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Jacob said. "You _have_ underestimated me before."

The door chimed again, and both Jacob and _Il Douche_ hollered: "Enter!"

Grayson walked in, followed closely by Sylaak. "Happy Birthday," they said in unison. Each of them held gifts in their hands which they both handed to Terryn in turn.

Jacob rolled his eyes at their effortless Vulcan synchronicity, but straightened his face when Grayson broke away from Sylaak and came over to wrap an arm around Jacob's waist. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered: "Hey."

He draped an arm over her shoulders. "Hey," he replied with a lazy grin.

"Hey, no goo-goo eyes and fluffy couple's nonsense on Terryn Day!" the lady of the hour protested even while completely engrossed in her task of tearing into both her most recent gifts, Grayson's first. When she finally pried the large gift box open, her mouth formed the 'O' of elated surprise. "A gold command uniform complete with epic, ass-kicking boots!" Terryn squeed. She hugged Grayson and then Jacob for good measure. "I see what you guys did there with the matching presents and I approve!"

Jacob shot a triumph smirk at "Jimbo" who just glared.

Next, Terryn attacked Sylaak's poorly-wrapped gift, but this time her reaction was a disappointed pout. "A logic puzzler? We have GOT to go over the fundamentals of gift-giving again, my Vulcan friend."

"Be gracious, Terryn Elizabeth," Dr. McCoy's disembodied voice chided just before the man himself strolled in, tricorder in hand, from Vegas' room.

"I mean, YAY logic!" Terryn corrected herself and gave Sylaak a hug so swift he couldn't ward her off in time to avoid it.

"Jim," Dr. McCoy gestured for _Il Douche_ to speak with him privately. Jacob squeezed Grayson's shoulder once, and moved away from her to join his father and the doctor. The men were so used to Jacob butting in on similar confabs that they even shifted around to include him. "We're moving in the right direction with the new serum modifications. She's much more cognizant than before. I even suggested that she have breakfast with us, but she declined." Dr. McCoy glanced at Jacob with oddly knowing eyes for a split second before returning his gaze to _Il Douche_. "The formula's not perfect, though. There's still some room for tweaking. Jake, why don't you bring Vegas down to Sickbay tomorrow? I'll have a new hypo ready then."

"Bring Vegas?" Jacob questioned, trying not to look as untrustworthy as he actually was. "Are you sure she's up for that?"

"She'll be fine," stated Dr. McCoy with such authority that Jacob would have been a fool to contradict him.

"Okay, sure," he acquiesed. "Tommorrow."

"All right, then!" _Il Douche_ clapped his hands together. "Business over. Let's go celebrate Terryn Day! 'Cause God knows we have little enough to be cheerful about these days." His last comment was muttered through grimly tightened lips.

As Dr. McCoy went off to join the others, _Il Douche_ stopped Jacob with a hand upon his shoulder. "Jake, how is she?" He indicated Grayson with a tilt of his head. She was standing with the rest of the assembled party around the long table they had brought in just for this birthday breakfast, popping the heat-insulating lids off the large containers of food there. Nothing in her demeanor gave any indication of what was going on beneath her mask of tranquility.

Jacob sighed. "I don't know. Whatever she's feeling, she's not letting me in on it. She's been acting like nothing happened."

"Well, do me a favor. She's been avoiding talking to me about it, so do what you can to get her to open up."

"Hey, what happened to making this a celebratory day?" Jacob asked, mock befuddlement lacing his words.

"No one likes a smartass, Jake," his father pointed out.

"And you know this from experience?"

"Just...help her, will you?"

"Yeah, Dad," Jacob said, for once addressing his dad with all seriousness. "I'll try."

"Good." _Il Douche_ patted Jacob on the shoulder, and they both rejoined the main group.

"So, what are we having?" Jacob asked.

"June Bug's favorite breakfast," Dr. McCoy said. "Huevos Rancheros."

"An official Terryn Day staple," added _Il Douche_.

"Wait!" Terryn shouted as all assembled prepared to dig in. "We should wait for Sulu! He's late."

"Oh, Koji's not coming," Jacob said whilst slapping a massive grilled tortilla onto his plate and spooning a heaping helping of the egg and bean concoction onto that. The stony silence that followed drew his attention away from his food and to the birthday girl. "He and his folks have a meeting at Anthos. He told me he'd get back in time for the party later."

Terryn's features remained hard for about three seconds before whatever emotion she had been feeling sank beneath the surface, and she plastered a very Terryn grin on her face. "Well, then, let's get this party started!"

_Okay..._ Jacob thought.

_What happened?_

_Good News: Koji's just replaced you as Terryn Enemy Number One_.

_I doubt that._

_What did you DO, anyway?_

The mental connection fell silent.

_Fine, be that way!_

"Jake, what are you doing just standing there like that?" _Il Douche_ came over and peered into Jacob's face like he was checking for intoxication.

Jacob shook his head, more to clear it than to answer his dad. "Nothing. Just thinking. Excuse me." He set his plate down, and went to his PADD. He could still feel his father's gaze on him, noting his every movement, as he typed a quick message to **OscarGoldman**, Koji's new handle. That done, he went back to the others and took his place next to Grayson.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, The Bistro_

In a lot of ways, Koji had always thought Dr. Lita Kajal would make a fairly decent Bond villain. She had one of the more pretentious English accents, she was the head of a super sub-rosa quasi-government organization, she was harboring at least enough nefarious secrets to run for political office, and she could not seem to stop smirking. Koji could write the first three qualities off as pure coincidences, but the last one had been an unequivocal red flag of certain villainy from the first time he had laid eyes on the woman. Be that as it may, and even with irrefutable proof of her evil ways, Koji was still finding it difficult to reconcile the woman who would tell the world her only child was dead whilst locking said child away from said world with the woman who was currently wining and dining his parents over a brunch of smoked salmon, assorted whole-grain muffins and goat cheese omelettes.

Koji dispiritedly picked at his food as he listened to his mom and dad exhaust every banal topic ever created expressly for the purposes of small talk with Dr. Kajal and, weirdly, Ravi, who was too busy fielding questions about the simulated weather patterns of the dome to tell Koji why this odd assemblage was taking place. Typically, Koji's parents had received a handwritten invite from Dr. Kajal some time last week and had only informed Koji of his mandatory involvement -and the Sunday-best suit he was required to wear- an hour beforehand. They had shuttled off to IX, arrived precisely on time at one of the upscale restaurants in the main city, and been greeted immediately by the staff who led them to a private little VIP room with a bay window overlooking the water. At no point, during the hour and a half of blatant schmoozing which followed, had anyone actually mentioned why they were going to so much trouble for some underwhelming blueberry scones and depressingly tasteful muzac. Koji's Anthos PADD, which he had brought with him against his mother's vociferous objections, buzzed quietly and Koji almost dove for it. He accessed the flashing message there with a smile, but lost that smile after reading it.

**Welkinite** - Just told Terryn you weren't coming to the breakfast. My advice? You're gonna need a bigger present.

The topic around the table changed to the comparative golfing skills of the grown-ups, and Koji began contemplating what he did to deserve this fate. He was missing out on the very first Terryn Day to which he had ever been invited for this? That's when his dad finally said something interesting.

"I don't mean to be rude," he began, ignoring the withering glare Koji's mom was sending him that warned that he clearly _was_. "Don't get me wrong. This has been a very lovely meal and all. But, what exactly are we all doing here?"

"Hikaru!" Koji's mother hissed as if scolding a wayward child.

"No, no, it's really all right, Mrs. Sulu," insisted Dr. Kajal. "I've been terribly amiss going on and on like this! But my father always taught me never to discuss business on an empty stomach."

"Business?" Koji's dad sat forward, seeming somewhat more suspicious than before. "What business?"

Dr. Kajal's eyes darted from one to the other of Koji's parents about five times before she spoke again. "Well, the business with your son, of course."

Koji went very still and avoided making eye contact with anyone at the table. It was clear that the jig was up with regards to he and Aidan. He had been waiting for this particular shoe to drop ever since he had found himself narrowly escaping the wrath of Kajal in the closet of her trapped machine-girl daughter. It was all over now. Dr. Kajal was going to tell his parents, his mother was going to lose her freakin' mind, and he would never be able to keep his promise to Aidan.

Dr. Kajal turned to Koji's mom. "I was under the impression that you had discussed this with your husband."

Koji looked up to see his dad targeting a confused and betrayed look at his mom. "What's going on here, Hotaru?" the man asked.

"I never meant to keep this from you, Hikaru. It all happened so quickly, and you've been so busy with the new work assignment-"

"I have never been too busy for this family," his dad cut in sharply. "Now what's this about my son?"

With a small cough, Ravi finally started talking. "Well, sir, we want him." Koji's mouth fell open. He looked over to see his father's eyes grew more and more stormy as Ravi continued. "My co-department head and I have been working pretty closely with Koji for these last few weeks. We feel that he has an exceptionally gifted mind that would benefit from the nuturing environment we have here on IX. We want to offer him an apprenticeship. We believe that we can help him realize his full potential."

Koji flinched as his dad's angry, accusing gaze turned to him. "So that's what you've been up to all this time?!"

"Hikaru," his mom jumped in, always the protector. "Koji knew nothing about this! Dr. Amir approached me some time ago. I told him I wanted to see how Koji felt about this place. If he fit in and liked it."

"What does any of that matter? He's not staying here!"

Silence fell like a lead weight around the room when husband scoffed at wife, and wife remained completely unmoved. Koji looked back and forth between his parents, suddenly very alarmed.

Dr. Kajal cleared her throat, for once leaving the smirk out of her expression as she attempted to mediate. "I see that you have much to discuss. I know that my parents tried to dissuade me for days on end when _I_ was being recruited. Nothing is set in stone. You can take all the time you need. We can meet again whenever you have made your decision."

"There'll be no need for that," spat Koji's dad, standing up and throwing his napkin down upon the table as though it were a gauntlet. "I'm sorry, but you've wasted your efforts. This is not the place for my son. Let's go," he added to Koji and his mom.

Koji began to obey, but he mother grabbed his arm to stop him. "We're staying," she said simply but firmly. "I want Koji to hear about some of the opportunities available to him here at Anthos."

"Fine, I'm not stopping you," Koji's father said, but the set line of his mouth told Koji that he was far from finished putting up a fight about this. Sure enough, he added a muttered, "I can't hear anymore of this," before he left.

The long silence that followed was the most awkward of Koji's life and, by the end of it, Dr. Kajal had her evil villianess smirk firmly back in place. "Well," the woman said. "Let's get started, then. Dr. Amir? We had better start with you explaining what an apprenticeship with you would involve."

Koji listened in a daze as Ravi began to relate in detail an apparent real world version of the fantasy learning experience Koji had been dreaming of his entire life while his mother sat at his side with a look of quiet pride on her face that he had never witnessed before. In fact, the only thing that kept him from believing that it was all a dream was Dr. Kajal's Bond villian expression of evil satisfaction...

**. . .**

_{TOS-Verse} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Crew Lounge_

Spock exitted the food queue with his customary spread of vegetarian lunch items and scanned the room for an empty table. The crew lounge was more crowded than usual, but he could still discern at least two clear tables to his left. A ringing laugh drew his attention to his right. Nyota sat at one of the largest tables in the spacious room. She was surrounded by a press of crewmembers, some sitting and some standing nearby, all of whom were listening and responding with mirth to a tale being recounted by the captain, Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekov. Spock drew closer before he had realized that he meant to do so. He found no trouble finding an empty place near all the commotion. Lower-ranking crewmembers always made way for their superiors. Though Spock had never made use of the privilege before, he found himself inexplicably determined to hear what it was that had his fellows so enraptured.

"It was a very sticky situation!" Mr. Chekov was just saying as Spock took his seat.

"We were lucky to get out of there alive!" Mr. Sulu agreed.

"Gentlemen, I tell you luck had nothing to do with it," the captain said as though arguing a point he had been trying to defend for some time. His eyes fell on Nyota with something like pride. "It was this one being so cool under pressure that made the difference in the end!"

"Actually, captain, '_cool_' had nothing to do with it," Nyota insisted. "It all came down to me knowing the difference between the Klingon verbs for 'love' and 'evisceration'. It's a subtle difference, I'll give you that." The crowd laughed loudly. "But nothing special."

"Are you sure about that?" Mr. Sulu raised an eyebrow. "I mean, Klingons notwithstanding, there's a world of difference between 'I will always love you' and 'I will always _eviscerate_ you'."

Another shared bout of laughing erupted.

"But soft..." shouted someone that Spock could not see. "It is my lady and my evisceration! Oh, that she knew she were!"

"All's fair in evisceration and war?" Mr. Chekov attempted to play along, but ended up scratching his head. "Wait..." A hearty collective laugh rang out again. At the end of it, Mr. Chekov started up a tale of yet another away mission full of feats of daring and saving damsels.

Spock glanced up from his meal on occasion to study Nyota's face. She had all the outward appearance of sharing in the revelry and mirth around her. Such a constrast to the state in which he had found her in the arboretum the day that they had left Residian behind two weeks and five days ago. She displayed an easy smile _now_. _Then_, she had shown signs of an utterly complete aloneness. Spock retreated into his mind in contemplation of this contradictory data so much so that he almost did not recognize the small beep his PADD made to indicate a new message. He accessed the message promptly.

**EstrellaLibertad** - May I join you in mediation again this evening, Mr. Spock?

Spock's eyes rose and met those of Nyota across the short distance that separated them. He sent his reply without another thought.

**MisterSpock** - Affirmative, Nyota.

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701_

As she pranced down the starboard side Deck 9 corridor in her best metallic-bronze sequined party dress, Adrina Chekov clutched the electronic invite-encoded drive-card in her hand as though it were a dear treasure of incalcuable worth. She had never been invited to a Terryn Day bash before, and she was NOT about to be denied entrance because of a lost invitation. She glanced down at the see-through two-by-four inch storage card with its dark gold Starfleet issue logo once more and almost squeed.

"If you grip it any harder, sister, it may snap in two," her twin brother's supremely nonchalant voice gently chided, already more pretentious-sounding than his mere thirteen years could account for. He sniffed importantly whilst flipping his own drive-card invite in between his slim, elegant fingers with the rapid precision of an often practiced trick. "Anyway, I would not get my hopes up if I were you. I have heard these so-called 'bashes' are not all they are cracked up to be."

Adrina started to scowl until she remembered that the expression produced the most unsightly creases in her browline. She chose, instead, to simply narrow her eyes at her brother. "Who did you hear that from, Nikolai? Let me guess: Hollan Rand? He's just sour because he did not get invited."

"No, he is sour because _you_ did not want him to be your 'plus one'," Nikolai pointed out whilst finger-combing his pain-stakingly 'careless' copper curls back from his forehead so that they sat like an aesthetically-pleasing dollop of caramel-chocolate mousse atop his head.

Adrina whipped her own similar shoulder-length curls back with a haughty toss of her head. "I happen to have bigger fish to fry, brother."

Nikolai snorted. "You cannot mean Jacob Kirk?" When Adrina merely gave her brother a silent serious look, he rolled his eyes at her. "How are you going to pull that one off? He is an upper-year student! A senior even! And he's dating _Grayson Uhura_! He barely knows you exist!"

"You leave that to me," Adrina smiled mysteriously. "Oh, here we are," she added as they rounded the bend. Up ahead, she could see the entrance to the Anthosian space station _Ogygia_ where the Terryn Day bash was going to be held. There was a small crowd of Enterprise youth there waiting to be approved for entry. But, as her brother started in that direction, she spotted two familiar silhouettes in one of the shadowy alcoves between them and the party entrance and grabbed Nikolai by the arm to stop him from boldly alerting the pair to their presence thereby ruining their chances of overhearing a tidbit of juicy gossip. "Wait!" Adrina whispered urgently. "Look," she pointed discreetly until her brother also saw the two persons who were obviously having a conversation they did not want anyone else to be privy to. "That's Koji Sulu and the Vulcan ambassador's son, Sylaak! They're part of Jacob's group! You know, the ones that stole the Enterprise and went off on a daring adventure? Koji is Jacob's best friend for life and Sylaak is Jacob's rival for the affections of his cold, unfeeling, Vulcan lady love! They're probably discussing secrets of the most dire import!"

"Two things," Nikolai said, speaking slowly. "First: You are _clearly_ reading too many fanciful novels. Second: How can you KNOW all of that?"

"The Enterprise Girls' Bathroom Wall LJ Comm," Adrina answered, making the 'duh' apparent in her tone. "Honestly! My membership there is how I scored us invites to this event! Now, come on!" She pulled Nikolai along behind her as she snuck ultra-quietly up to a spot where they could still not be seen by Koji and Sylaak, but could easily pick up the sound of their hushed voices.

"As an intern, I have only limited access to the machinery in Medical Bay," the Vulcan boy, Sylaak, was saying. "I could not glean much from the readings you gave me in the short amount of time I had to study them. Perhaps it would be better to get the assistance of Dr. M-"

"No! This has to stay between me and you," Koji cut in sharply. "No one else can know! Listen, be ready tomorrow morning. I'll see what I can do about getting you some unobserved time in Sickbay _then_. Does that sound good?"

"That will be acceptable," Sylaak agreed. "However, it is still my belief that I am not the most qualified person to assist you in this."

"Yeah, well, you're all I've got, bro," Koji's voice said, sounding further and further away as he went on. "And by that I mean you're the only guy I know who _willingly_ volunteers his time at Sickbay."

Whatever Sylaak's reply was, Adrina and Nikolai failed to hear it as the two conspirators had walked out of earshot. Adrina turned to her brother, her mouth cloddishly agape, and found that his expression mirrored her own. After they were done gaping at each other, Adrina remembered something and her features turned superior. "'Too many fanciful novels', eh?"

"Fine, you win _this_ round, sister," Nikolai conceded. "The question now is how to spend this coin we've just acquired."

Adrina went directly for her PADD, which was in the bronze satin beaded purse that hung across her body on a long chain of similarly colored faux gems. "I'm going to post the info on the Comm, of course! This is just TOO much of a scoop!"

Nikolai reached out to stay her hand. "Better to pocket this secret coin for now. A penny saved is a penny earned, after all."

"What are you scheming?"

Nikolai smirked like the man of mystery she knew he really wished he was. "Let me ask you this: Would you rather have the temporary shock and awe of momentary recognition, or would you like to make a lasting impression of which even Jacob Kirk could not fail to take notice?"

Adrina began to share her brother's Cheshire Cat expression. "Well said, brother," she commended.

"I do try," said Nikolai. Then, he held out his arm for her to take. "Now, shall we?"

Adrina hooked her arm around his, and the pair of them headed for the party.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Ogygia_

Terryn surveyed her creation with pride. It could all be summed up in one word: pink. Every surface, every object, every edible confection in the room was one shade or another of florid pink. Her father had outfitted Ogygia's ginormous admittance chamber exactly to her specifications. The benches and decorative plants had all been moved out the main room, clearing the middle of the faux-marble floor for the twenty or so little rounded tables dressed with pink satin tablecloths and topped with large glass serving platters boasting pyramids of pastel pink puff pastries and tiny tea cakes bedecked with pink and white frosting. The only thing missing was chairs. Chairs would only get in the way. Terryn smiled malevolently. _This is going to be good_, she thought.

She looked over and saw that Koji and Sylaak were just arriving. Jacob and Grayson were already there, lingering like a pair of seasoned wallflowers near the buffet table with its humongous bowl of strawberry-cherry punch. The only conspicuous absence was the only one Terryn had been expecting. And really, Vegas had not chosen to show her face that morning at breakfast, so how could Terryn expect her to show for this?

All of Koji's new friends were in attendance - including that weird scientist guy Ward, his partner Amir and their communal foster son, Harp - which was probably the only reason Koji had bothered to show up. Along with them, Terryn had invited more than half the population of Enterprise youth. Even now, little Adrina and Nikolai Chekov were being admitted by the red shirt bouncer Terryn's dad had hired just for the occasion. Terryn grinned to herself as she saw the empty spaces in the massive room slowly-but-surely fill with people. _It's almost time_, she inwardly trilled.

"What's with the getup, McCoy?"

Terryn broke out of her haze of nefarious glee to see that Koji had made his way through the crowd to stand at the foot of her pink papier-mâché covered dais where she presided over the festivities on her pink beanbag chair throne wearing the gold Starfleet outfit Grayson and Jacob had given her. Koji was holding a mid-sized metallic gold wrapped gift, but he made no move to hand it over right away. "That's _Captain_ McCoy to you, Sulu! Check the name tag." She tapped the tag attached to her uniform. Then, she folded her arms and frowned. "Now, what have you brought to appease me?"

"Sheesh, are you a captain or an empress?" Koji muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Just answer the question before I throw you in the brig, Ensign!"

"Back to 'ensign' again, eh? Well, here's your present, my liege. I hope you like it." Koji finally held his gift out for her to take.

Terryn held back for all of two seconds before grabbing the package and ripping into it with zeal. Popping the lid on the box, she exclaimed loudly: "Rossum 3.0!"

"Actually, I've tweaked him since you gave him back to me," Koji corrected. "This is Rossum _4.0_. He now has 20% more dance moves and he responds to 50 more voice commands, including this one: Play Terryn Day greeting."

Terryn lifted the robot from his box just as he began singing 'Happy Birthday To You' in his little electronic tenor. She grinned like a maniac.

"Sorry I missed the Huevos Rancheros," added Koji.

Setting Rossum 4.0 down on the dais, Terryn hopped down from the construct, reached into her pocket, and solemnly presented Koji with the large circular pen she had stashed there. "Here."

"The Official T-Day Badge of Awesome? But...I'm sure you've received better presents than mine."

"Yeah, I did," Terryn agreed readily. She fiddled with the tiny, purple gem hanging from the necklace she wore. "My sister sent me her sweet sixteen necklace. But, she's not here to accept the badge, so it's all yours, Sulu."

Koji penned the badge to his shirt and smiled. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"Nope," said Terryn promptly. Then, she softened and added: "But, it's a start."

Terryn let her eyes rove the room again, checking once more to see if everyone had arrived. The place was packed, both with kids she had known for years and with the small handful of Anthosian natives she had come to know in the last couple of weeks. However, there were at least a few whom she did not recognize. Over by one of the curved archways that led away from the main room, that weird uber-Vulcan chick T'Lale stood with a curious pair of individuals. They were distinguishable mainly by the stark contrasts they displayed.

One was a lean, angular female with skin as waxy and white as the petals of magnolia blossoms and long, straight hair that was the color of pale yellow sunlight. The other was a towering, muscular male with skin dark as volcanic earth and hair the color of obsidian that curled close and compact near his scalp. Each sported the pointed ears and slanted eyebrows of their Vulcan companion, but the species similarities stopped there. Even from Terryn's vantage point across the room from them she could tell that they had none of a Vulcan's introverted nature and calm demeanor. In fact, it was clear that they were thoroughly enjoying themselves, dancing with each other in wild, erratic circles with the graceful and ethereal synchronicity of seasoned partners. "Who are _they_?" Terryn asked Koji, pointing them out inobstrusively. "The ones with T'Lale."

Koji followed her index finger. "Oh, that's Rahm and Asal. They're T'Lale's brother and sister."

Terryn was just about to mention the lack of any discernible family resemblance when Rahm dipped Asal low and gave her a kiss passionate enough to earn an R rating. "Close family," she quipped instead.

"They're not actually related," Koji said, grabbing a pink, puff pastry from the nearest table and devouring it. "I mean, they were all raised by Vodik, but calling each other siblings seems to be some kind of inside joke between all of them."

"Raised by Vodik, eh? In that case, are they actually Vulcans?"

"That is something I would like to know," said Sylaak as he suddenly materialized from out of the press of bodies. His face wore the pinched non-expression it always had when he was forced into such close contact with strangers. The bit of clearing around the dais where Terryn and Koji stood talking seemed to relieve him greatly.

"They're all as Vulcan as Sylaak here," Koji answered. "Just don't ask me where Vodik came across three Vulcan kids, because your guess is as good as mine. T'Lale keeps a tight lip about her 'family.' The only reason I even know about them is they came by Newt's Playhouse to fetch T'Lale one time."

"In the meeting from the Pavilion that we watched, Vodik said that he has been in close communication with my mother, and T'Lale has informed me that she is also acquainted with my mother. But, when I questioned my mother on the subject she denied any such close connections," said Sylaak.

"Weird," Terryn said.

"Seriously," Koji agreed. "I mean, she _is_ the Vulcan ambassador to Vulcans. It'd be strange if she actually _wasn't_ trying to get to know Vodik's family. So why would she lie about it?"

"I would like to know that as well," Sylaak brooded.

At that moment, Jacob and Grayson broke through the crowd to join them. While Sylaak immediately began filling Grayson in on the whole Rahm-Asal-T'Lale-Vodik situation, Jacob gently tugged Terryn aside. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

"Shoot, Kirk," she said. "But make it snappy. I've got a T-Day bash to host."

"I want to know what happened between you and Vegas."

Terryn bristled. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

Jacob sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Vegas is acting pretty weird about it. And when I ask her about it, she skirts the issue. If something's upsetting her, I gotta know about it. It's my responsibility to make sure everything's all copasetic and not all 'Oh God, Oh God, we're all gonna die!' again."

"Something upsetting _her_?" Terryn blew a short puff of air out of her lips, and rolled her eyes. "Put your fears to rest on that account, cowboy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your zombie pod girl is a cold hard bitch! Nothing's gonna 'upset' _her_. Trust me."

"Terryn, what happened?" Jacob asked softly.

Terryn took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's just say we were in a situation where she could have let me down easy, but instead she chose to drop me off a cliff and practice her evil laugh as she stood by watching me hit every single ledge on the way down."

Jacob began shaking his head even before Terryn was done speaking. "No. Vegas wouldn't do that."

"Fine. If you don't believe me, ask her yourself," Terryn shrugged. "Now this topic is bringing me down on T-Day, so I'm officially banning it for all eternity," announced Terryn, who could feel her mood taking a definite downward slide. "Besides, it's time to get this show on the road! Sylaak! You might want to take cover for this. Just a fair warning." The Vulcan boy did just that even as Terryn hopped back up onto the dais and, with the remote control she had placed there, made the music blaring through the chamber's impressive sound system cease. People stopped talking and dancing and milling about to look up at her makeshift throne as Terryn picked up the hot pink megaphone she had hidden behind her beanbag chair and brought it to her mouth.

"Hear ye, Hear ye! Welcome to this year's Terryn Day festivities!" Scattered applause sounded and one guy even whooped his enthusiasm. "Some of you may be wondering why there are all these tables and no chairs. All these delectable treats and no plates or napkins with which to partake of them. The answer to both those questions can be found in the title of this year's T-Day Bash: Nothing's Fair In Love and War. The game is Zombocalypse. The cakes and pastries are ammunition. The tables double as reloading stations and strategic cover. Rule Number One: You can either form teams or go it alone. Rule Number Two: If you're hit, you're dead and you can't rejoin the game unless you have a Zombie Card, good for just one use per person. You can find the Zombie Cards hidden willy-nilly around the playing area like demonic little Easter eggs of salvation. Rule Number Three: If you're a zombie and you get hit in the head, you're dead again. For good. Rule Number Four: If you kill a zombie, their card is yours. The Final Rule, and the most important of them all, is this: You can't kill Terryn on Terryn Day! I'm immortal, bitches, and I'm coming for you! Deal with it! You have a twenty minute head-start before I start takin' names! The objective of the game is simple, people: Be the last man or team standing at the end of the night that hasn't been killed and/or re-killed, and you get a treat." Terryn looked around at all assembled for a moment of brief solemnity. Then, she calmly said, "Let the game begin," and pandemonium broke loose.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Ogygia_

Grayson ducked behind a pillar in the hallway leading away from the main admittance chamber of Ogygia. She clutched one puff pastry in her right hand and had an arsenal's worth of the confections stuffed into the olive green woven handbag she'd bought to go with the green, yellow, brown, and white African print long-sleeved cotton shift she wore. Beside her, Jacob was already keeping a look out for any daring individuals who might think to try and take them by surprise from one of the guest quarters lining the long curved hall beyond. While Grayson took up the watch for any enemy fire coming from the direction of the admittance chamber, she could hear him checking the next guest room down for potential assailants.

"It's clear!" Jacob called out.

Grayson backed away from the relative safety of her position behind the pillar and then made a run for the room. Once there, they both stood just inside facing one another and keeping one eye on the outside just in case they could catch some poor fool going past unawares. Grayson found many things about this game appealing, but her favorite thing was the opportunity for a more practical application of the tactics strategies she had learned during her Command Apprenticeship. As had been the case when Science had been her primary area of study, Grayson found she learned better by practice than by theory. One thing was distracting her from her enjoyment of the proceedings, however...

"So, back to what I was trying to say to you earlier," Jacob started in again. "If there's anything you want to talk about, I'm always here. If you want to unload-"

"I don't," Grayson snapped more sharply than she meant to.

She could almost hear Jacob's temper crackling and preparing to flare, just beneath the surface of his exasperated reply. "You can't just be keeping it all in!"

"Yes, I can! Duck!" Jacob dodged out of the way as Grayson threw the pastry she held with deadly accuracy and hit a passing zombie directly in the forehead.

"I thought you decided that wasn't the way to go!"

Grayson gave Jacob a hard look. "No, that's what you and your father decided! I've decided for myself that I don't want sad words and tears anymore. They achieve nothing! I want action!" A flash of shiny bronze just to the right of her sightline caused Grayson to send a tea cake flying. A startled yelp told her she had hit her mark.

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Clearly," he said.

Grayson's latest kill shuffled fully into their view, and she saw that it was little Adrina Chekov, sans the other half of her duo. "My party dress," the girl pouted, looking down at the splash of pink frosting and angel food cake that now decorated the center of her chest. "It's ruined."

Knowing the girl as she did, Grayson was not impressed by the show Adrina was putting on, but Jacob melted immediately. "Aw, it's okay. Come in here with us. There's a bathroom in the back. You can clean yourself up."

Adrina came forward bit by bit, still acting the part of an innocent little girl. When Grayson finally saw that Adrina had something in her hand, it was too late. Jacob did not react quickly enough to avoid a pink puff pastry square in the chest. Adrina grinned and flashed a white card with a jagged pink 'Z' scrolled across it. "Sorry, I'm the living dead. I couldn't help myself." Grayson did not hesitate before smashing another tea cake on the side of the girl's face, and snagging her Zombie Card.

"Well, you're the not-so-living dead _now_," Jacob quipped. When both Grayson and Adrina gave him unimpressed looks he grinned crookedly. "Sorry, but, Grayson, you were missing a golden pun opportunity and I had to think fast to preserve it."

"On that note," Grayson said. She stuck her head out of the open doorway and looked both ways.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jacob asked. He walked up to her, rested a hand on her waist, and leaned in to mutter in her ear, "We weren't done having our discussion."

"Yes, we were. I have said all I'm going to say on the subject, and now it's closed." Grayson pulled away from him and prepared to make a dash for the next nearest pillar. "Now, why don't you stay here and protect Adrina's party dress from further ruin," she suggested, hearing the younger girl launch into an excited bout of chattering behind her as she darted out the door.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Ogygia_

John Harper poked his head up over the top of the fort composed of overturned tea tables and pink satin tablecloths which Newt and Ravi had constructed on the fly whilst they gathered copious amounts of ammo and dodged enemy fire. He ducked right back down when a tea cake sailed past his head. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, Rahm-bo!" Harp hollered across the No Man's Land in the center of the admittance chamber where Team Rahm and Asal had built their own fortess, and where the pair were now busily picking off strays and aiming strategically timed missiles at Ravi, Newt, Koji & Harp's team.

"It's only a matter of time, Harp!" The spirited Vulcan called back. "Your ass is mine!"

"Oh, really? How does your lady feel about that?" Harp yelled in return.

"I want a turn when he's done!" Asal's ringing laughter-filled tone retorted.

"In that case, where's the sign-up sheet? I want in on this!" Newt joined in.

Ravi and Koji laughed at the lot of them.

"You know, no one has come this way in a while," Ravi mentioned, loud enough for Rahm and Asal to hear too. "They all know one of our teams will kill them on sight."

"Yeah, and Koji-chan, here, is consuming all the ammo," Newt mentioned.

Koji, who had just stuffed another puff pastry into his mouth, whined: "What do you want from me? I'm starving! I haven't eaten since this morning!"

"We're running low, too- Ow!" Rahm had apparently earned a swift punishment from his fierce better half. "Well, we are."

"I heard one of the dead guys say that there's a guest room filled with ammo," Ravi pointed out for all to hear.

"Now, why would you disclose that intel, Ravi?" Asal's voice questioned with obvious suspicion. "Wouldn't that be a tactical misstep?"

"No. Not really," Harp said. "Because neither one of our teams can go anywhere without becoming easy targets for the other."

"Clearly, we have come to an impasse," Newt sing-songed.

"Are you proposing a ceasefire?" Rahm asked. "Perhaps a mutually beneficial alliance?"

Koji's eyes grew quixotic. "We'd be unstoppable!"

"What say we form Team Anthos, eh?" Newt suggested. "Show these Enterprise charlatans how it's done?"

"Hey, I _am_ an Enterprise charlatan!" Koji said, an incriminating smear of pink frosting just above his upper lip. "Wait...I mean... You know what I mean! The Enterprise is my home, so be cool, man!"

Newt turned his wild eyes on Koji, displaying more seriousness than he ever did. "But, it's not," he said. "Not anymore. You're one of us now."

All at once, a shrill battle cry sounded from the rafters that made a criss-cross design which made up the open-feeling ceiling of the entire two-story room. Without warning, the birthday girl herself zipped down a rope, throwing pastries left and right until she finally landed in the center of the chamber. When Terryn was done, only one person had been left alive. Koji stood among them, unmarked and clearly confused.

"Terryn, wh-"

The girl walked up to Koji and interrupted him by yelling: "What did he mean the Enterprise isn't your home anymore?!"

"Look, my family hasn't decided yet. In fact, my dad's pretty set against it. I-"

"Set against what?!"

Koji's eyes were downcast as he replied. "I've be offered a place here. An apprenticeship. A chance to do something really awesome with my geeky talents for once." Looking Terryn in the eye again, he added. "And...I really want to accept."

Harp could see tears beginning to well in Terryn's eyes but her face remained stony as she shoved Koji with what looked like all the strength her small frame could muster. Koji was knocked back, but not down. On the front of Koji's shirt, obscuring the Terryn Day Badge of Awesome which he had proudly explained to them earlier, there was now the crushed pink and white mess of a tea cake. "The party's over!" Terryn proclaimed. Then, she stormed out the door that connected Ogygia and the Enterprise.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Ogygia_

Though he had travelled almost as far away from the commotion as the limited floorplan of Ogygia would allow, Sylaak could still hear the ruckus of party-goers slaying and being slayed with edible confections. This year's Terryn Day event had surpassed all the others in terms of its sheer ridiculousness. As it was, he still found issue with the illogical Human propensity to celebrate the passage of time, but Terryn Day took his objections to a wholy different level as only Terryn could.

Sylaak's escape route took him through the open chamber beyond the space station's first set of guest quarters where the "dead" had begun gathering en masse, and into the following hallway's set of guest accomodations. It was much quieter there as most of the would-be "killers" went as far as the Dead Room and turned back, leaving the rooms beyond for less adventurous party-goers such as himself and...

He sped up his pace as he passed the open door of a room housing an overly-amorous pair of teenagers.

...others.

Sylaak walked until he had passed at least three empty rooms and the noises of the party game had become a low rumble in the background. He finally stopped at the next door down and went inside only to freeze in his steps when he saw that another person had chosen the same hiding place. T'Lale sat on the bed within, her eyes on a PADD which she looked up from when she realized that she was no longer alone.

"Sylaak," she said simply, seeming unsurprised to see him.

"T'Lale," said Sylaak likewise.

"You are not participating in the festivities?"

"I find them unappealing," he replied. Thinking of a sight he witnessed before leaving the party all together, he added: "Conversely, your...siblings seemed very excited by the proceedings. They are a fascinating pair. Very...demonstrative."

T'Lale displayed no emotional reaction to Sylaak's subtle provocation, but she did offer something like an explanation. "I know what you must think of them. Your mother shares your opinions. But, they are not like us. They are...of a different breed."

Sylaak paced further into the room, stood with his shadow looming over the still seated girl. "You speak often of my mother, yet she speaks little of you. Even when directly solicited."

"You suggest that one of us is not being honest," accused T'Lale.

"I suggest nothing," Sylaak said. "I merely state the facts as I comprehend them."

T'Lale did not speak again. Instead, she turned her attention back to her PADD. Standing this close, Sylaak could now see that she was editing a complex algorithm the purpose of which he could not ascertain at a glance.

"You choose to offer no counterpoint?" Sylaak asked, oddly eager to hear what arguments she might present.

"As you have already decided what it is that you believe, it would be illogical for me to attempt to sway your opinion."

Suddenly weary of both standing and their verbal sparring, and thinking that he could at least alleviate one of the issues, Sylaak sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can form no opinion without first having the data with which to draw a conclusion."

T'Lale dropped her PADD to her lap again. "Very well," she said. "Your mother first visited my guardian, Vodik, four days after the Enterprise's arrival here at IX. They spoke at length about Vodik's research projects and his experiments with both Human and Vulcan genetics. In the subsequent weeks, Ambassador T'Pang has become a near constant presence in Vodik's laboratory. She has met with both me and my _siblings_, as you termed them, many times. Whether you believe that or not, it is the truth."

Sylaak took a moment to collect and assimilate the information she had provided before responding. "I find that I do not doubt that you are telling me the truth. I doubt only that my mother has reasons for not doing the same."

T'Lale made a subtle hand gesture that amounted to the Vulcan equivalent of a shrug. "I can only postulate that she and Vodik may have come to some agreement as to what she can and cannot disclose about her association with us. Even to you."

"What is it that Vodik wants to hide?" Sylaak wondered aloud, not expecting T'Lale to provide him with an answer.

She did, however, in a tone both bare and direct. "I thought that was the most apparent thing of all. He wants to hide _us_. My '_siblings_' and I."

"Why?"

"Because we are not who we appear to be."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to know," T'Lale said. "And because I think that you might be able to help me."

Sylaak was on the point of posing a great many more questions when a small cough at the open doorway signalled that another person had joined them. It was Grayson, lingering there at the doorway as though unsure if she was welcome to enter. Her eyes darted between Sylaak and T'Lale with some interest as she spoke with a halting hesitancy. "I...I came to find you. The party is over. Terryn called it off. No one won the game."

T'Lale stood up swiftly, tucking her PADD away within the folds of her long robe-like overcoat. She glanced at Sylaak once, whispered: "Say nothing, or I will not seek you out again," and exitted the room.

"What was that about?" Grayson asked without delay.

Sylaak made a choice. "It was nothing."

Grayson looked at him now as if he had suddenly become a stranger to her. As she had never before looked upon him in such a way, Sylaak found that he could not fathom what emotion lay behind such an expression. "Shall we go?" He asked, brushing past her before she gave an answer, anxious to escape her scrutiny.

"Yes," he heard Grayson murmur in the thoughtful way that had always signified her having some bit of insight that he did not. She did not voice it, however; only strode silently beside him as they made their way back home.

**. . .**

_{TOS-Verse} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Mr. Spock's Quarters_

Standing outside Mr. Spock's quarters, Uhura found herself pausing to take a breath and calm her sudden nerves. This was not the first time she had joined the man in his quarters to share in his evening meditation, but it was the first time she had been forward enough to invite herself. It had been over a week since she had last received a message inviting her over to sip tea, discuss the philosophical principles behind the art of Vulcan meditation, and go through a few simple routines meant to calm the psyche and prepare it for a restful and rejuvenating slumber. She had first become familiar with similar meditation exercises when helping her husband recover from the monumental psychic disruption that was losing both his home planet and his mother. For years, she had sat with Spock as he almost religiously went about the routines to clear and settle his mind before bed every night.

Following her break down in the arboretum, Uhura had readily accepted Mr. Spock's offer to walk her through a routine of meditation which he believed would help her find peace in her _own_ unsettled mind and heart. However, after only three such sessions he had abruptly ceased to seek her out to schedule others. Then, that afternoon, she had been suffering through yet another meal in the crew's lounge, surrounded by people who both were and were not friends she had known for many years and who were all treating her as if she belonged there among them. She had been feeling the incessant press of their collective expectations of her; their need for her to play a part that would be missing from their act if she, the inadequate understudy, did not grit her teeth and perform the role. She had chanced to glance up and see Mr. Spock sitting at a table nearby, quietly partaking of his midday meal, and the sight had inexplicably buoyed her spirits. It was in that moment she had realized that, in all of this, he remained the one person who had never expected her to be anything other than herself. Her next action had been simple in that moment, but had become more complicated the longer she had had time to think and fret about its implications.

Uhura rised her hand to press the door chime on the companel only to see the door slide open before her finger touched the screen. Mr. Spock stood beyond the threshold, arms folded neatly behind his back and eyebrows quirked with subtle amusement that the rest of his expression spoke little of. He angled his stance in such a way that he beckoned her into the quarters without having to say the words. Feeling suddenly at ease again, Uhura entered, wondering why she had felt nervous to begin with. This was _Spock_, after all. Not _her_ Spock, to be sure, but one she had come to know in her time here. He was not one to pretend for the sake of another's feelings. Had he been offended by her request of him, he would have simply declined it.

Everything had already been set up in Mr. Spock's small living area. Tea things were organized on a tray atop the coffee table. Two mats were laid out on the floor next to that. There was music playing as well, the sort that made one notice less about the way it sounded and more about the calm way it made you feel. Uhura removed her boots at the door, placing them next to Mr. Spock's own. By unspoken consent she and her host both took their customary places on the mats, facing one another, legs folded into the lotus positions.

"I want to thank you for doing this, Mr. Spock," she started by saying.

"There is no need, Lieutenant," he assured, pouring them both steaming cups of tea. Uhura looked over the things on the tea tray. She noted that he had remembered her preference for adding honey and milk to the slightly bitter Vulcan brew. She found herself watching his hands as he went about preparing the beverages. They were the same as her husband's, of course. Everything about him was, physically speaking. But, they moved somehow differently; with an even more practised precision, if that were possible. Everything he did seemed planned to such exactitude that his movements took on a strangely ethereal beauty. "I find our sessions most enlightening," Mr. Spock continued. It took her several seconds to realize that he was holding her tea out for her to take. She did so and turned her full concentration on coaxing the steam away from her cup to avoid meeting his eyes as embarrassment washed over her. "What is the goal you wish to meet with tonight's meditation?" It was the question he always asked at the beginning of their sessions. The goal could be simple or it could be complex, but she had to single one out mainly so that she would have a point on which to focus her awareness.

Tonight there was only one goal in her mind. "I just want to stop feeling guilty."

"What is making you feel guilty?"

Uhura sighed, gathered her thoughts, and spoke to her reflection on the shifting black-brown surface of her tea. "I _chose_ to leave my family behind in search of...something." She gave a dry, bitter laugh that scratched her throat on the way out. "I don't even know what that something was anymore. But somewhere in the back of my mind I've always thought it was something that I'd have to pay for if I ever finally got it."

"And you believe that your current circumstances are this payment?" Mr. Spock conjectured.

"I just...I feel like this has all been a classic case of 'Be careful what you wish you for.'" She finally caught Mr. Spock's stoic gaze with her own and found his dark eyes as patient as ever.

"Nyota, I believ-"

The door chime sounded, interrupting whatever it was that he was about to say. Uhura shared a quick glance with Mr. Spock, during which they each seemed to agree that this was an odd hour for random visits, before he rose up to answer it. Even though Mr. Spock's tall frame blocked most of the entrance, Uhura could see a glimpse of gold uniform top and a portion of a familiar hand that told her the late visitor was Captain Kirk.

"Captain," Mr. Spock greeted, confirming her guess.

"Mr. Spock," the captain said. "I've received a transmission from Starfleet Command on the matter which you asked me to look into. The news is hopeful. Good, even. I thought we could share it with Lieutenant Uhura immediately. Will you walk with me to her quarters?"

"There's no need for that, Captain," Uhura found herself saying before Mr. Spock had the chance. She got up and joined the Vulcan in his doorway. "I'm here."

The captain split a curious look between his two officers. His eyes held a playful spark in them as he asked: "Getting to know one another?" However, when it became clear that he wasn't going to get a response from either of the people he was attempting to poke fun at, Kirk just shouldered his way into the room.

"What is it, Captain? What were you going to tell me?"

"Several weeks ago, Mr. Spock requested that I make some inquiries about that place you mentioned, Anthos IX."

Spock calmly clasped his hands behind his back. "I postulated that you may have been transferred here not to the location of the anomaly you spoke of, but the location of the Lieutenant Uhura of this reality."

Uhura heartbeat sped up. "So Anthos...it may still exist here?"

"Not _may_, Lieutenant," Kirk smiled. "_Does_. A place called Anthos does exist here. It's an unclaimed, uncharted star system located at the edge of Federation space nearest the neutral zone bordering the Romulan Star Empire."

Uhura found her gaze straying to Mr. Spock as she came to a decision. The man's features gave away no indication at all of what he might be thinking, but she hadn't really expected them to. "Captain, with your promission I'd like to go there and find out what I can."

"That's a good thing," said the captain. "Because, as lucky coincidence would have it, that happens to be the Enterprise's next stop."

"Captain, that's very nice of you, but you don't have to halt the entire mission for my sake."

"Nonsense! This is an exploration vessel after all! The mission objective is to explore! Now, I want to explore this uncharted star system. Besides, much as I greatly admire you, you're not my only concern in this. If we can find a way to get _you_ back home, there's still hope that your counterpart, wherever she may be, will find her way back to where _she_ belongs as well."

"Of course, Captain. You're right. I should have considered that myself." As they had many times over the last several weeks, Uhura's thoughts went to the other her. She wondered again if her doppelgänger had made it safely to Anthos IX, and if the woman was fairing well in her space and time...

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Spock Family Quarters_

Spock watched as his wife's extra-dimensional facsimile slowly sank a fork into her tiramisu dessert, disrupting the perfect cube shape of it. His eyes followed the captured morsel's path until it disappeared beyond the lieutenant's lips; caught and stayed on the rapture expressed by the woman's closed eyes and light smile. She hummed an indistinct melody under her breath and opened her shut lids with a lazy reluctance. Her dark eyes found his own, but if she had noticed his probing stare she did not mention it. Instead, she lilted: "Commander, you'll have to excuse me. This is my absolute favorite dessert."

Spock looked away finally. "I am aware," he said.

Uhura's voice turned soft. "Would you like to tell me about her?"

"I doubt I could tell you more about her than you likely already know."

"Oh, I don't know about that. After all, we are, all of us, in the end just the sum of our experiences, and her life and mine have obviously turned out very differently."

Spock waited precisely five seconds before resting his gaze upon the lieutenant again. She had not taken another bite of her dessert, but her long, graceful fingers toyed with her fork as though longing to do so. "I would prefer to discuss Grayson instead. I have attempted to engage her several times on the topic of her mother, as you suggested. She will not speak of it to me, nor to the captain. She is avoiding us both. What is your conjecture?"

At last succumbing to temptation, Uhura took up her fork and seized another bit of tiramisu, enjoying the mouthful as she mulled over his inquiry. "Well," she said at last. "As I already informed you, I have spoken with Grayson a few times. I have not pressured her to speak about her mother, nor has Grayson mentioned her at all. Sometimes it's best to leave a person be and let them come to terms with a traumatic event in their own way. But, then again, keeping strong emotions bottled up is shown to be unhealthy for Human beings."

Spock could feel a furrow forming at the center of his browline. "Which is your opinion in this instance?"

Uhura fleetingly splayed both her hands, palms facing outward. It was one of the many dynamic gesticulations which she and his wife did not have in common. "In this instance...I believe you should take both opinions into consideration." Rather than pronounce her advice illogical outright, Spock merely stared at Uhura until she laughed a short ringing laugh that she and his wife _did_ have in common. "I can tell you were expecting me to offer a more definite solution, Commander, but, as I told you before, I don't want to tell you how to parent your own child. I just want to help you to become more aware of what Grayson may need from you emotionally. Only you can decide what's best."

"Yet, the fact remains that my instincts on the matter have proven to produce...questionable results. After only three months, two weeks and six days in my sole care, she has become more lost, more disobedient and more unhappy than she has ever been."

"That could all be so," Uhura agreed. "Or it could be that she has just started to question her place in the world, become more independent, and is missing her absent mother. Face it, Commander. Grayson may simply be growing up."

Inexplicably, Spock's thoughts flashed to the small, inquisitive child Grayson had once been; to afternoons spent hearing the echo of her tiny footsteps trailing his own from room to room; to a memory of her, a newborn infant, bundled in the folds of a cream knit blanket and wrapped in his wife's embrace... "I find that thought disconcerting," he realized.

"As do many parents, but it is crucial that you strike a balance between sheltering Grayson and giving her room to breathe."

Spock breathed deeply, assimilating Uhura's input and drawing his own conclusions from it. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Your help has been constructive."

"I'm glad that I could be of assistance," Uhura said, and went back to savoring every single crumb of her tiramisu.

Spock went back to sipping at his tea and only occasionally watching her until the lieutenant finally finished the dessert and retired to her own quarters. Spock cleared the table and made preparations for his evening mediation while he awaited Grayson's return from Terryn McCoy's sixteenth birthday celebration. Having had an adequate amount of time to ruminate upon Uhura's advice, postulate what Nyota might say were she here, and even take into account Jim's views on the subject of his daughter, Spock had one more person's opinion to acquire.

At twelve minutes past the hour of her curfew, Grayson -who, in the past, could have been counted on for industriously habitual promptness- walked through the front door. Seeing Spock seated at the table, the girl paused only long enough to acknowledge him with a tired "Greetings, _A'nirih_." before heading straight for her room.

"Grayson, sit down," commanded Spock.

Grayson looked at him as if only just seeing him after having awakened from a haze. "Sir?" she asked in a soft confused tone.

Spock indicated the empty seats at the table with an outstretched hand. "Be seated, _Ko-fu_," he said again.

Still looking confused, Grayson walked slowly over and sat down in the chair to his left. "I arrived past my curfew, _A'nirih_. I am sorry. It will not happen again."

"That is not the matter I wish to discuss with you," said Spock.

Grayson clasped her hands together in her lap and adopted a patient expression on her face, her customary listening stance.

"We have yet to discuss the recent events which have...altered our circumstances. I would like to know..." Spock paused. He found his next words inexplicably difficult to utter. "I would like to know how you are feeling."

Grayson blinked for several rapid beats. Her eyes, just beginning to glitter with the onset of fresh tears, roved over the room and everything around her as if in search of something. "I do not think that I have words which can describe it, _A'nirih_."

"I must ask that you attempt to do so despite the difficulty."

Grayson swallowed thickly. One tear escaped her left eye, but she swiped it away before it could get far. Her eyes fixed on the tabletop and did not budge as she began to speak. "I feel... I feel like _M'aih_ has failed me, because she promised us she would return and she did not. I feel like my emotions fail me, because all I can feel is helplessness and nothing I do changes that. I feel like logic fails me, because my sense of rationality tells me that I will never see my mother again and I cannot accept that. I _will_ not." Grayson raised her eyes to meet his own at last. They were full of sadness and fear and a startling amount of anger. "I feel like _you_ have failed me, because..." Her voice broke. More tears fell and were abruptly stopped in their tracks by Grayson's furiously swift hand. "Because you are supposed to be able to fix anything! But, in the face of all of those things, you are as powerless as I am!" Breathing hard, hands now clutched into tight, infuriated fists, Grayson had never seemed more like her mother's daughter. "Does that suffice?" she asked, tone struggling to remain civil. "May I be excused?"

"_Ko-fu_-"

"Please," Grayson cut him off, voice softer than before and possessing an edge of pleading. "May I be excused?"

"You may leave if that is your wish," Spock quietly allowed.

Grayson stood immediately and moved away so quickly that she had her hand on the door of her room before Spock got his next words out. She did not look at him as his spoke to her, but she paused at the threshold of her room to listen.

"It is all right to hope, Grayson," he said.

Grayson nodded in acknowledgement of his words, went into her room, and shut the door behind her.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy, Dr. Kajal's Quarters_

Kirk tilted his head back and yet another crystal blue shot of finely aged Romulan ale burned a searing path down his throat. At the same time, the bare, silken skin of a sneaky, flirty foot slid up his left pant leg to caress his shin and calf. "You know," he grimaced, still feeling the ale's aftermath. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to liquor me up and take advantage of me."

Beside him on her couch, Lita knocked back a shot of her own, her third, and gazed at him with annoyingly clear green eyes. "That scenario's unlikely," she dismissed. "Past events have taught me that liquoring you up is often a method _counterproductive_ to taking advantage of you."

Kirk frowned now. "That happened one time! Once!"

Lita's ever-present smirk turned just this side of sultry. "Yes, and I'll never let you live it down."

"We'll see about that," Kirk growled under his breath before gripping Lita's thigh, hiking her long, slender leg over his hip and pulling her in for a brazen clash of tongues and lips and teeth. When they paused for breath many minutes later, Kirk found he had finally succeeded in kissing that smirk off her face.

"My, my, my, James. I've been meaning to ask: Have you been practicing?"

"Yes, Lita," deadpanned Kirk. "My entire sex life since we parted ways has been one massive training montage meant to prepare me for this exact moment in time."

"Well, what was the song that played over it? Because, that sort of thing all depends on the music, after all."

"It was something that started off smooth and slow..." Kirk said, sliding one hand leisurely up her side and then back down again. "...with lots of throbbing bass..." He planted several evenly-timed kisses just above the plunging neckline of her form-fitting royal blue dress. "...that built and built until it ended on a staggering crescendo." He captured her lips in a passionate kiss again.

"That's quite the montage," Lita praised breathlessly. "Even _I_ believe you're the champ."

"That's because I _am_," Kirk insisted. "And I will prove it. Just let me check the time." He pulled away to study the face of the small antique-style clock on Lita's side table. "The party's still going, but it's getting late. I have about an hour or so before I should be heading back."

Lita sighed over-dramatically. "James, you are a grown man! Why, do you insist on imposing this ridiculous curfew on yourself? I'm sure Jacob can manage to tuck himself in by now."

"It's not like that," Kirk said. "It's just that...Jacob kind of has an issue with me having indiscriminate sex with random people."

"You really know how to make a girl feel special, James."

Kirk leered. "It's one of my many charms, I'm told. But seriously, thanks for keeping this..." He gestured vaguely at their obviously compromising position. "...between you and me."

"Well," Lita said, smoothing her hand under his shirt and up the flat of his back. "I have to admit, it _has_ been hell not rubbing it in Leonard's face, but I'll survive."

"Your magnanimity astounds me."

Lita's doorbell went off, sounding like a short, pronounced twinkling of windchimes, and her head fell back against the couch with a dull thud. "It never ends," she muttered. As she rose up, Kirk studied her movements and concluded that they were distinctly snakelike. He watched the sinuous shimmy of her hips as she coaxed the hem of her form-fitting dress back down to its normal length and stepped back into her punishingly tall spike heels. He noted the way she shook her long tresses out until they fell fiercely about her face and shoulders like a cobra's hood. And he marked how, like a snake shedding its skin, she seemed to physically step out of the sense of frivolity with which she had spent the evening with him until all that was left behind were the hard tough scales which she used to protect herself from the world outside. "If you'll excuse me, James, duty calls." She paused to toss a thoughtful look over her shoulder at him on her way out of the room, and added: "Actually, I think you're one of the few people who understands that."

Kirk sat back and exhaled a deep breath, glancing curiously around the room while he waited. Lita's place had the feel of an old professor's study, all earth tones and brown leather and weathered bronze objects of obvious antiquity none of which still performed their original purpose. The living room speakers even provided the ticking sounds and on-the-hour tolling of an archaic grandfather clock to complete the ambiance. On the long, narrow mahogany desk along the far wall and its adjacent old-fashioned bookcase, Kirk could see many a useless gadget and statue. Glancing over to the opening of the hallway which led to the front foyer where Lita had disappeared seconds ago, Kirk decided he had enough time for a light bit of noisy snooping. This was his first time alone in Lita's quarters, after all. He should make the best of it while he still could. He strolled casually over the bookcase first, browsing the gold embossed lettering on the books' leather-bound spines. Most of Lita's books were stodgy non-fiction tomes on this or that branch of science and/or technology, academic journals and the like. But, on the second shelf were a small group of novels. "Will wonders never cease?" Kirk muttered to himself as he perused the collection of volumes. "_Macbeth_, _The Inferno_, _Sir Gawaine and The Green Knight_, and _The Aeneid_, eh? That explains so much..."

As he took a closer look, something metallic gleamed behind the novels. It was so well hidden against that back of the bookcase, that he never would have noticed it were it not for the fact that its silver synthetic exterior clashed with the rest of Lita's old world décor. Kirk looked around once again before moving the short row of books aside and seizing the metal object they were ostensibly there to hide. It was a PADD, Kirk realized, one of the sleek, dark silver versions that every Anthos citizen seemed to carry around as if they were third limbs. On one thin side of the thing, scrolled by a clearly childish hand in sparkling bluish purple marker were the small words: "Property of Nadia Kajal". "Oh man," Kirk whispered to himself. Thinking he had thoughtlessly unearthed the last momento Lita had of her deceased child, he hastened to put the PADD back were it came from only to freeze when something else on the device caught his eye. The date of the manufacturer's copyright. 2274. Five years _after_ Nadia Kajal was supposed to have died...

The sound of Lita's clicking footsteps on the faux hard wood floor of her hallway alerted Kirk that she was on her way back. As quickly and quietly as possible, Kirk stuffed the PADD down the back of his pants, returned the books to their previous state, turned to the desk, and struck a pose like he was engrossed in studying the miniature globe of Earth circa hundreds of years ago which stood there just in time for Lita to appear at the mouth of the hall.

"Brushing up on ancient Terran geography, James?"

"Hey, I gotta stay sharp. What was that all about, anyway?" He motioned in the general direction of the front door.

"Oh, a pipe burst in one of the basement levels causing mayhem and shenanigans galore," Lita waved it off dismissively. She approached him, already slipping out of her shoes, and crossed her arms around his neck, sinking her long-nailed fingers into his hair. "It's nothing that won't still be there in...an hour's time, did you say? Now, where were we?"

"Actually," Kirk said as he began backpedalling away from her while trying to make it appear that he was doing no such thing. "Jacob just messaged me, wondering where I am. I think the party ended prematurely. I'm really sorry to do this to you, but I'm trying to make things work with my kid and-"

Lita held up her hands to stop him. "Say no more. I understand. Children are the most important thing." Her dark green eyes grew misty, and Kirk had to admit that her performance was so good that he was almost falling for it even now. "I found that out the hard way."

Kirk made himself squeeze her shoulder and nod sympathetically. "You're absolutely right. Gotta go. Bye now." Making sure to keep facing Lita, he backed out of the room as nonchalantly as physically possible and got out of the apartment as fast as he could.

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Kirk Family Quarters_

Vegas closed her eyes and peered through Jacob's. He was still awake which did not surprise her, because he had returned from Terryn's party a whirling mess of Grayson-inspired emotions. He was feeling angry and frustrated; ineffectual and sad. All of which were driving him to sleeplessness and the consumption of a truly pathetic number of blue coconut wafers. Even now, and despite the late hour, he was padding on bare feet across the kitchen floor in search of another tin full of comfort. Vegas sighed and drew away from his mind, blocking it off from her own. She locked both doors to her room, and went to sit cross-legged in the center of her bed. On her wrist twinkled her bracelet, a collection of flat, metallic, diamond-shaped charms. Vegas toyed with the charm-laden silver chain as, for just a moment, she hesitated in her resolve. This would be the first time she tried using the bracelet since she quit the formula. But, she thought again of how powerless Jacob felt with regards to helping Grayson. She remembered how Grayson had helped her when _she_ was the one having issues. _I'm so close to knowing how to help her_, Vegas thought. She took a deep breath, removed a charm from the bracelet and attached it to her temple. Instantaneously, the little holographic menu appeared in the air to the left of her vision. "Playback," she said. The menu now displayed a scrowl-able list of recorded "memories" from which she selected the one named simply _Selene_.

_The shape, dimensions, and function of the room she had opened her eyes to was not readily apparent. The only thing in her immediate view was the sober grey stone and metal piping of the chamber's high roof at first. Then, she blinked a few times, her eyes roved the room in a listless way that spoke of boredom, and she realized that she had seen a room similar to this one before. It was now obvious to her that this memory was taking place in one of the many hangars at Anthos VIII. To the right of her were several large computing units and one of the massive viewscreens Anthos seemed grossly over-populated with. To her left was a collection of metal crates in varying sizes which she suspected held supplies._

_"Soldé," someone calls out from below her and she notices for the first time that she is reclining on the front hull of a small vessel -__**Selene**__, she realized- when she gazes down from it to the obviously excited face of Ravi Amir. "I'm almost certain the universal timeline wouldn't self-implode if you told me a little bit about how you integrated both solar and wind power so effectively with your various systems."_

_"Do you __**really**__ want to take that risk, Rav?"_

_Ravi's smile quirked up on one side and his eyes ran along the perfectly aerodyanmic line of __**Selene**__'s hull. "Yes, I think I __**really**__ do." Then, his eyes lighted upon her with the same sort of curiosity he was just showing the ship. "Hey, are you recording this?"_

_"What? I tend to play around with my HippoCharm bracelet when I'm really bored and really hungry like I am right now. It baffles me that you still find my defunct ship this fascinating after all this time. Even __**I**__ rarely want to visit her anymore."_

_"Just a little bit longer," Ravi insisted, already going back to surveying the wiring in the bottom of the ship where he had removed a small panel of the hull. "Besides, Newt's meeting us here any minute so we can all go have lunch."_

_"What? You could have told me," she grumbled, giving Ravi a look that he missed completely, engrossed as he was in his study of __**Selene**__._

_"Why," he asked, not even glancing at her. "It's just Newt."_

_"No reason," she said. "Nevermind." Sliding down from the ship, she peered at her reflection in its shining exterior, making tiny needless adjustments to her hair and tugging at the fabric of her clothing self-consciously. She was sure she had gotten away with her inconspicuous bit of primping until Ravi chuckled._

_"Congratulations. You look exactly the same."_

_She lightly kicked him in the leg for his jibe. "Shut it, you."_

_Just then, a buzz at the main doors sounded and she went, with a noticeable skip in her step, to tap the 'open' icon on the input panel near the door which slid open to reveal not only Newt, as expected, but a familiar little blond boy whom he was lugging around piggyback style. Newt came into the room talking loudly as per usual. "Alright, everybody calm yourselves. There's no need to riot on my account. I'm only one man after all." He swung Johnny down from his back and to the floor in front of her._

_The boy, only having eyes for __**Selene**__, immediately started to rush past her with a quick "Hey, Soldé!" in the way of a greeting._

_"What am I chopped redbat?" she asked, grabbing Johnny before he could get away and hugging him tightly._

_"Soldé!" Johnny complained. He endured the hug for a moment, but before long he squirmed restlessly out of her arms and darting over to where Ravi was still salivating over __**Selene**__._

_Once it was just the two of them facing one another, she and Newt shared a series of awkward glances before Newt appeared to gain back enough of his bluster to carry on speaking again, this time in a quieter, more serious tone. "Doc Harper told me to bring John-boy to you and Rav. He said he'll be working until late again. That you should all get dinner in the cafeteria tonight."_

_"Not a good day for him?"_

_Newt shook his head. "No, but don't worry. I don't think Johnny noticed."_

_"Good," she said, glancing behind her to see Johnny and Ravi conversing animatedly about __**Selene**__'s innards. "He's always so worried about Owen. Though he tries not to show it."_

_"Soldé!" Johnny called out. "Come show me the inside of your ship!"_

_She shared an amused look with Newt, and they both went join Ravi and Johnny. "Where are your manners? You should say 'please' when asking a request," she chided in flowing Efflugian._

_"Please," Johnny replied back in the same tongue, drawing the word out with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Will you show me?"_

_"It's no fair when you two start spouting Gobbledygook," Newt groused._

_Ravi laughed. "You had your chance to learn."_

_"So? So, did you."_

_"I don't have a head for languages not of the programming variety," Ravi shrugged. "And I'm all right with that."_

_"Yes, well, __**you're**__ all right with your haircut right now, and the fact that you're a modern day archetype of an absent-minded professor."_

_"Well, __**you're**__ an archetype of a mad scientist, so I guess that just makes us a stereotypical pair all around. And you have exactly zero room to talk when it comes to hair, man."_

_Newt's hand went automatically to his trademark wild gingery yellow mess of a head. "What's wrong with my hair?"_

_"There'd be nothing wrong with it, if it was something a cat just hacked up."_

_Newt gasped dramatically. "How dare you! I'll have you know this is a style coveted by mad scientists everywhere!"_

_As Newt and Ravi continued their easy back and forth, she and Johnny just chuckled and left them to it. __**Selene**__'s hull was as smooth and seamless as the metal of her escape pod. No one could guess at sight that it was made up of a billion little panels which came together to make the whole. Despite that, she had no problem going right up to the vessel and pressing her left hand to exactly the right place to make the hatch door pop open. She lifted Johnny up into the ship and followed behind him shortly thereafter. Once in the slightly cramped, closed in vessel, she found that Johnny had run immediately to the cockpit and leapt up into one of the duel command chairs, small feet dangling over the edge. She sat down in the other chair, and observed the look of sheer delight shining in his eyes._

_"Soldé, is this __**really**__ a ship from the future?"_

_"Of course it is, why would I say it was if it wasn't?"_

_"It's just..." The boy looked uncertain if he should continue._

_"What?" she prodded._

_"Well, if __**I**__ had a time machine, I would spend every day trying to fix it." The boy's eyes seemed to stare beyond his surroundings with a strange sort of intense focus for someone so young. "I wouldn't stop until it was fixed again. The way you treat her... It's like she's just any other ship. It makes me think she's not really as special as you always say she is."_

_She let a very long silence pass before she replied. Her eyes rested on all the advanced machinery and systems surrounding them. When they lighted on Johnny again and she spoke to him, her voice came in a whisper of her native tongue. "Can you keep a secret?"_

_The boy nodded, his attention rapt. "Cross my heart and hope to die."_

_"Selene __**is**__ a ship from the future. A ship that can travel through atmospheres and oceans, and over land and the cosmos," she confirmed. "But that's all she is. Just any other ship, like you said."_

_The boy now looked nothing but confused. "But...then how did she get here? How did you and Lear get here?"_

_She started to answer, but the sound of the main doors opening again drew both their attention. Before long, they could hear a cold, familiar voice begin to speak in obviously enraged tones. She and Johnny looked at each other. She whispered a quick: "Remember, you crossed your heart." Then, they both stood and went to the ship's open hatch. She exitted the ship first, Johnny hanging back behind her. Out in the hangar, a predictable scene was unfolding. Lear was facing off with Newt, and Ravi was attempting, yet again, to be the mediator._

_"You don't belong here," Lear growled with a low-pitched icy tone._

_"I could say the same about __**you**__, Marty McFly," spat Newt, eyes wilder than usual and sparkling with the fiery kind of anger that might consume both its source and its target if given the chance. "At least I can say I belong in this space and time!"_

_"Guys, come on," Ravi interceded. "Newt, calm down. Lear, it's cool. We'll go. We're going," he added to Newt, grabbing his friend's arm to tug him along._

_Newt resisted, shrugging Ravi off and advancing on Lear. "No, you know what? I'm getting really sick and tired of this guy's attitude!"_

_Lear remained utterly still, seemingly unmoved by the fact that Newt was intent on causing him bodily harm. But, as Newt moved forward, it became clear by Lear's taut posture that the blue-haired boy was merely patiently awaiting just such a move on Newt's part so that he could have a prime opportunity to strike._

_"Newt," she called out quickly. She rushed forward to stand in the Human boy's path, and placed a hand to his chest to stop his forward motion. "Please. It's my fault. I shouldn't have let you guys in here without informing Lear first." She turned to gaze at her former bondmate. "__**Selene'**__s his ship, too. It was wrong of me. I'm sorry, Lear." Looking back at Newt and Ravi, she continued. "You guys should go on to lunch without me. Johnny?" At her call, the boy jumped down from the ship's hatch and hurried to join Ravi near the front entrance._

_Newt raised his hand to rest it upon the one she still had on his chest. "No, you come with us too. You don't owe him anything, Soldé." He said the last part just loud enough that he knew Lear would catch the words._

_"Yes," she murmured, removing her hand from his. "I do. Now, please go. I'll be all right."_

_Newt stayed stubbornly in place and, for a moment, she thought he was going to stand his ground. However, in the end, he nodded and left with Ravi and Johnny leaving quickly behind him. The hangar fell quiet for a long time after they had gone. She turned back to Lear and saw that his proud angular face remained unyieldingly stony._

_"Lear, I said I'm sorry," she said in a small, soft voice. "Don't be angry."_

_"I'm not angry that you brought them here," Lear told her, advancing on her in slow decisive steps with every word he spoke. "The fact that you should know me better than that? THAT angers me. The fact that this is the first time in a year that you have even SPOKEN of __**Selene**__? THAT angers me. The fact that I am a sixteen year old CHILD? THAT angers me. And most of all? The fact that my WIFE is forcing me to watch as she openly engages in a blushing adolescent romance with a boy who isn't worthy to lick the bottoms of my boots clean? That INFURIATES me!" By the time Lear had finished, he was right in front of her and hissing his words like an angry, cornered snake. "'We won't be children forever.' Isn't that what you told me once upon a time? Well, The Change began in us many months ago and you PERSIST in denying me what is still mine by law if by nothing else! You are my WIFE and I am your sympath! By Efflugian law it is our duty to forge The Bond before it is too late!"_

_"We don't live by Efflugian law here," she said. The strength behind her response was surprising. Especially to Lear, it seemed, because the boy looked on her with astonishment budding in his quicksilver eyes. "Don't you see? All our lives we were told that we could have no existence without one another! Then, we came here and we were given a chance to be free! To make a fresh start and live lives of our own choosing!"_

_"There is a problem with that line of reasoning," Lear sneered. He seized both her upper arms in punishing vise-like grips, leaned in close enough that their cheeks nearly brushed together and made his voice a steely whisper in her ear. "Because I choose YOU for my life. I chose you when we were just children on Efflugia, and I will continue to choose you until I take my last breath. Or until you take yours. Whichever comes first. And one way or another you WILL submit to me. You see, that is the thing you have never seemed to grasp. People like you? Destroyers? Can never have a choice in the end." With that, Lear released her and stalked out of the hangar._

_Waiting until she could no longer heard the thump of his retreating footsteps, she crumbled to the floor in tears and swiped furiously at the charm on her temple._

_The vision went black._

Vegas came to choking back wracking sobs. Her vision swam so that nothing around her seemed real at first. Everything was a distant blur which she had to fight to keep focus on. Then, she heard his voice. "Vegas," he said, and then said it again. She held onto the sound; let it anchor her to what was real and true, here and now.

"Jacob," she whispered aloud. "What happened? Did I-"

"No," he said. "But, it was a close thing. The floor was just starting to rumble. If I hadn't known the override code to your room, we would have been in serious trouble. What the hell happened?"

Vegas reached blindly, weakly, to her left temple. Jacob, seeing what she was doing, gently moved her hand aside and pried the diamond-shaped charm from her face. "Wait a minute, I've seen this on you before. On the day we first administered the formula to you. Vegas, what is this?"

"It's my memories," she explained tiredly. "_Soldé's_ memories. Part of this." She lifted her right arm so that Jacob could see the charm bracelet filled with almost twenty more charms just like the one he now held.

"What? Your bracelet?"

"Each charm can record memories and play them back. They help me to remember things. Even some things which aren't on them. They're like a jump-start for my hippocampus. When I'm in full working order, that is."

Now Jacob's eyes were accusatory and the emotion radiating off him was the blunt, bitter anger of disappointment. "This is what set you off before, isn't it? This is why you almost killed us all!"

"Or sent us to Taco Bell," she retorted weakly, sitting up with only moderate difficulty.

"No! No joking. Not now. You KNEW this was dangerous. The fact that you shut your mind off from me and locked yourself in your room before doing it proves that! I thought we had an understanding that we would take no unnecessary risks when we started weaning you off the formula. That we would at least TRY to keep a low profile. I thought we were in this together! But that was just lip service to get me to do what you wanted so that you could do THIS, wasn't it?"

Vegas' heart seized up at the look in Jacob's eyes; at the acidic feeling of betrayal he was drenched in. "No, Jake! It wasn't like that!"

Jacob shook his head, not even really looking at her anymore. "Do you know that I defended you to Terryn tonight? She told me what you did and I didn't believe her! I told her you would never do something like that. But, you did, didn't you?" Vegas did not reply, letting her silence answer for her.

"You used her, Vegas! And you used me."

Jacob started to stand up and walk away with plainly displayed disgust, but she latched onto his arm to stop him before he could. "Don't go. I only did this so that I could help you and help Grayson, too! Yes, I kept it from you, but that's because I knew you wouldn't let me do what had to be done!"

"You're damn right I wouldn't have! This was INSANE!"

Vegas flinched, not from his volume, but because of his choice of words. Letting go of him finally, she wrapped her arms around her middle and stared morosely down at the her comforter. "Well, it worked, so I guess the ends justify the means," she mumbled.

"What do you mean 'it worked'?" Jacob asked, softening his tone to a tired sigh as if he had decided that he was done wasting needless breath on the topic. "What do you know now that you didn't before?"

"I know what I have to do," Vegas said. "I have to get in to see that new ship. And I have to speak to John Harper."


	4. Statue Of Sirens

**Episode Four - Statue Of Sirens**

_{**TOS-Verse**} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, The Bridge_

"Captain's log: Stardate 2269.39. After nearly four weeks of travel, we have arrived at the edge of the star system known as Anthos. The scanners indicate twelve bodies of planetary mass. All of which appear to be uninhabitable. Despite that, Science Officer Spock has detected a faint energy reading on or near the eighth planetary body. We are on route to investigate," Captain Kirk ended his log entry, leaned his weight upon one elbow on the arm of his command chair, and peered out at the sprawling assemblage of light and color that was the Anthos Star System.

"Captain," came the even, analytical voice of his First Officer.

"Yes, Mr. Spock?" Kirk acknowledged, turning his full attention to his officer.

"The reading is weak, perhaps masked in some way, but I am detecting bio-signs amid the energy readings. Two, to be precise."

Kirk faced his Communications Officer. "Lieutenant, put out a hailing signal on all channels."

"Aye, Captain," Uhura said. The woman had been on his team for less than two months, but due to her twenty years on the Enterprise's extra-dimensional counterpart, she was technically his most seasoned officer. She didn't falter, didn't skip a beat, before carrying out his command.

"Mr. Sulu, how soon will we reach our destination?"

"Within the next five minutes, sir. The planet should be in sight shortly."

And then it was, as if summoned into their view by the helmsman's statement. There, amid the dazzling array of stars, a smoky-gray orb striped at intervals with ribbons of swirling white cloudface rose up to dominate the viewscreen. The scale of it was immense even at a distance. It had no visible moons, but Kirk could see what looked like a small irregualarly-shaped speck backlit by the atmosphere's glow which appeared to be orbitting the planet.

"Computer. Magnify," Kirk ordered. The view zoomed in, zeroing in on the speck; giving it more familiar shape and definition.

"Sir," Mr. Chekov observed from his post. "I think it is a space station."

Kirk found that he had to agree with Chekov's conclusion. The structure was like a tall, lean spinning top with a large ridge protruding at its center and speckled with countless pockmark-like pits and breaches which spoke of an attack by outside forces. It had clearly seen better days, but there were enough intact parts of it to indicate 'space station' as its most probable purpose and to drive Kirk to his next query: "Is there anyone answering any of the hailing frequencies, Uhura?"

"Negative, Captain," she replied promptly. "There are no answering frequenci- Wait... It's barely strong enough to be picked up by our scanners, but something's coming in." She looked at him with surprise tinging her features. "Someone's trying to hail us."

"Put it through, Lieutenant, if you can."

Kirk turned back to the viewscreen just as it flicked to black, and watched as a staticky image began to emerge bit-by-bit until he could see the brown, clearly wizened face of an elderly Human male. He had a large, beak-like nose which stood out prominently from the rest of his face and wispy, salt-and-pepper hair shorn close to the scalp. "Who are you?" the man asked with an urgent, mistrustful light in his dark eyes. "Why have you come here? What is your purpose?"

"You are speaking to Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. My crew and I are carrying out an investigation which has led us here. You needn't fear us. We are, all of us, peaceful explorers. We mean you no harm."

"You are...Humans?" The old man now displayed a wild dawning hope.

Kirk shot a quick glance in the direction of his Vulcan first officer, and smirked a little. "More or less. In any case, this is an Earth vessel, if that'll put you at ease."

"Earth..." The old man breathed as if testing to see if his mouth could still pronounce the word.

"Are you from Earth as well?"

"I am," the man confirmed; pride in his tone. Then, he continued, and the pride morphed into despair. "I was. A very long time ago."

"You were the only one to answer one of our hailing frequencies. Is this the only outpost around here?"

"Yes, Captain, it is," the man said. "I'm afraid you have arrived at one of the lonelier corners of the void."

"How lonely exactly?"

"Population: 1," the old man answered gravely. "Welcome to Devian Prime, Captain. I am Dr. Ravi Amir."

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Sickbay, Dr. McCoy's Office_

"And then he said I was funny. So, then, I wanted to tell him Father's old joke. You know, the one about the three clowns, the Tsar and the unicycle? But then somebody came by and said that the party was over. Then, he walked with me all the way back to the main chamber and on the way he told me about the time he stole a packet of Tropical Fruit Bubblelicious and some Skittles from a convenience store on a dare and spent the night in jail for it. Then, he said he shouldn't have told me that story and that we should just keep it between us. Then-"

"Adrina," Nikolai cut into his twin's ceaseless chatter with a pointed glare. "Setting aside the fact that this is the twelfth time you have _regaled_ me with this story since it happened, I feel I must remind you that we are currently hiding in the office of the Enterprise's CMO on a mission of mystery and espionage!"

His sister rolled her over-large green-gold eyes. "I do not know what you are worried about. Mother always says he absolutely NEVER comes in here! There is a layer of dust on his desk, Nikolai!"

Nikolai rose up bit-by-bit to peek out of the office's large window into the Medical Bay proper. The place had become substantially more crowded since he and Adrina had snuck into it in the early hours of the morning. He instantly spotted their mother in her blue medical uniform, instructing a small group of interns of which the Vulcan boy, Sylaak, was one; and over near the examination room stood Dr. McCoy debriefing a team of medical professionals on their tasks for the day. Satisfied that they would not be found out just yet, Nikolai ducked back down again.

"When is this going to happen?" Adrina whined. "We've been waiting for hours!"

"Patience is a virtue," Nikolai reminded her.

Adrina's eyes cut to his loftily. "Are we _really_ going to discuss virtues whilst on a '_mission of mystery and espionage_', brother?"

"Actually, I find our current task to be quite virtuous. We are uncovering the wrongdoings of our peers."

"By '_wrongdoing_' ourselves," his sister pointed out. "It is highly unattractive of you to pass judgment on the actions of others when you cannot attest to doing any better yourself."

It was Nikolai's turn to roll _his_ eyes now. "Oh, stop quoting Mother, will you? It only makes you sound pretentious."

Adrina looked ready to continue with their bickering, but she was stopped by the sounding of a loud alarm in the next room. She and Nikolai shot each other excited looks before they both rose up to sneak peeks at the room beyond.

Dr. McCoy was in full Chief Medical Officer mode; flying into action, eyes on his PADD as he reported: "There's been a massive explosion in Engineering down where they're still repairing hull breaches! They need all medical personnel down there stat! Everybody grab your kits and let's go!" When the doctor saw that Sylaak was moving to obey his order, he made a negative hand gesture. "Sorry, Sylaak. No junior interns allowed in situations this dangerous. You haven't been briefed on the emergency protocols and I don't have the time to fill you in."

Sylaak nodded and stood to the side as everybody flooded out of the room en masse. The room was empty in a matter of seconds. Sylaak immediately pulled a drive-card from his pocket and put it into the machine nearest to him. Instantly, the screen on the machine showed a program compiling and organizing the data he had just input. Sylaak had not even been studying the readout for more than a minute before the main doors swished open again. Sylaak turned around swiftly, but seemed to relax a second later. Nikolai and Adrina knew why when Koji Sulu paced into view saying: "It's cool. It's just me."

"Did you cause an explosion in Engineering?" Sylaak's tone was almost chiding. Almost.

Koji grinned. "There IS no explosion. But, it's gonna take them about thirty minutes to figure that out. So did you find anything out yet?"

There was a long pause. When Sylaak spoke again, he was clearly reluctant to do so. "Over 65% of the subject is not...alive. These areas here..." Sylaak pointed out some dark blue shaded areas on the computer screen's example of a basic Humanoid figure. The areas made up a fair amount of the being's body. "...display some of the characteristics of readings I have seen of persons who have had limbs replaced with prosthetics, but I have never heard of a subject surviving alterations this extensive. From what manner of species did you obtain those readings?"

Silence on Koji's end.

"I cannot help your friend if I have no fundamental data with which to hypothesize."

"Fine. She's a Human, okay? Ten years ago, she suffered an accident which destroyed all of her limbs and a good-sized portion of her midsection. She was more than lucky to survive it. It was a full-blown miracle. Her m-" Koji coughed. "Her doctor replaced every body part that was destroyed with some pretty advanced cybernetics. She's a machine girl. A cyborg. That's all I can tell you, and I've said too much already."

Sylaak accepted the information calmly and went back to studying the computer screen. "This area here..." Again, the Vulcan boy pointed to the figure on the screen. This time, his abnormally long index finger singled out an even darker blue space in its center. "...appears to be the central unit to which all of the other prosthetics route back. A processing unit, perhaps, or a power core..."

Koji nodded. "That's about where her power plug is so I'd guess the latter. She plugs into Anthos' central energy hub with it."

"Judging by what you have told me and what I see here, the difference between the two tricorder readings you provided me with is that in one the prosthetics are functioning normally and in the other, they are slowing down and putting strain on the organic parts of the subject. It is my assessment that that strain would cause internal injuries to the subject and that she would be dead in a matter of hours without a sufficient amount of energy to power the prosthetics."

Koji put his hands in his hair and exhaled a deep breath. He held the odd pose for several moments before dropping his hands and curling them into determined fists. "Sounds like what she needs is a battery."

"One which can sustain her for a substantial period of time," Sylaak agreed. "I believe-"

"What's going on here?" A new, clearly puzzled voice asked from the direction of the main doors. Judging by the way Adrina perked up and quietly trilled upon hearing it, Nikolai guessed the voice could only belong to one person. Sure enough, Jacob Kirk was the next person to stride into their view, alongside the weird, green-haired, alien girl whom Nikolai had often seen him with. He thought he could remember hearing Adrina refer to the alien as Jacob's '_charity case_,' but he rarely took the time to recall more than twenty percent of the flood of drivel his sister inundated him with on a daily basis. "What are you guys doing?" Jacob added.

"Who's this supposed to be?" The alien girl asked, going right up to the computer screen before either Koji or Sylaak could make a move to hide it.

"What is her name again?" Nikolai whispered to Adrina.

His sister frowned. "Vegas."

"Yeah, and where IS everybody?" Jacob continued where '_Vegas_' had left off.

"Sheesh, guys, can you let us answer the first question before hitting us with a dozen more?" Koji demanded defensively.

"All right, relax," Jacob said, joining Vegas at the screen. "Besides, I'm not the one in here..." He screwed his face up as he searched for words to describe what he was seeing. "...making plans to build a superhuman cyborg...?"

"'Superhuman' is a highly anthropocentric term," Sylaak remarked.

Though the other two ignored him, Vegas nodded and mouthed a sympathetic "I know, right?" to him.

Koji gaped at Jacob. "How did you see all that?"

Jacob splayed a hand in the air palm facing up so much as to say: 'Are you kidding me!' "Did you forget that I recently studied in the Medical Division under Dr. McCoy himself? I may not look good in blue, but I can sure as hell read a simple medical chart."

"That's not true, Hubby. You look great in blue. It brings out your eyes," Vegas commented, though she, too, went ignored.

Nikolai found the soft sound his sister made after hearing the alien girl's endearment as ridiculous as hearing a baby kitten attempt to roar like a full-grown lioness.

"So, what is this, anyway?" Jacob pressed on. "You finally had it with life as a mere mortal, or something? Gonna rebuild yourself?" Eyes still studying the screen, Jacob continued on in a mildly teasing manner which held an edge of something Nikolai could not readily identify. "You know, just because you have the technology, doesn't make it a good idea."

"Thank you, John Conner, but, no, it's not like that. It's complicated," Koji retorted.

"Can somebody please explain why this place is so deserted?" Vegas spoke up again. "We were supposed to be meeting Dr. McCoy."

Koji scratched the back of his head and scrunched his face up comically. "Well, I may have had the ship's computer report a massive explosion in Engineering."

"Wait a second! Are you guys doing something illegal?" Rather than seeming perturbed by the concept, Vegas was apparently enthused by it.

"Look, I don't have time to explain right now," Koji said. "Can I fill you guys in later? We're kind of on a time crunch here!"

As if to prove Koji's point, sounds from the hallway announced the imminent return of a suitably angry horde of medical practitioners.

"I think your time's up," Vegas mentioned.

Koji quickly dove at the machine they were all standing around, ejected the drive-card from within, and shoved the storage unit into his pocket. "I gotta hide!"

"No, you don't," said Jacob. "We have a check-up alibi. Vegas and I will just say you tagged along with us."

"You don't understand! If Dr. McCoy sees me here, he'll know it was me that hacked the system!" When the others gave him strange looks he added: "Alright, so I may have done it before when I was, like, twelve. The point is my dad will most likely behead me if he finds out about this! Just hide me!"

"I would advise you to hide in Dr. McCoy's office. It is the least frequented room in Medical Bay," Sylaak recommended.

Nikolai and Adrina faced each other with wide eyes and gaping mouths. He scanned the small room. His eyes landed on a door at the back. "Quick," he said, pulling Adrina by the arm. "The closet!" They ducked into the Chief Medical Officer's tiny coat closet and closed the door behind them just moments before the office door opened and they could hear the sound of Koji shuffling swiftly into the room.

"We may be able to distract him," Vegas put in.

"Yeah, and find a way to get you out undetected," Jacob's voice promised.

The noises from outside the stuffy closet became muted as Koji was presumably closed into the office. Still, Nikolai could hear it when, moments later, the loud, disgruntled mob descended upon Sickbay. There was the sound of many gathered people again and, in addition to that, the sounds of their loud, muffled complaints. Then, a familiar voice came close enough to the office door that he could hear what was said. "That wild goose chase threw my entire morning out of wack!" Dr. McCoy steamed. "I almost forgot we had this meeting. Come join me in my office."

_This is starting to resemble a comedy routine_, Nikolai thought with some exasperation.

Beside him, Adrina whispered a flabbergasted: "Oh, come on! Really?"

Outside, Jacob and Vegas were stalling the CMO. "Um, in your office, sir?"

"Your office right here?" Vegas added.

"Yes, that's the one," said Dr. McCoy, speaking very slowly as though to small children.

The sound of Koji's light cursing and frantic scrambling in their direction was the only warning Nikolai and Adrina got before the boy himself flung open the closet door. Koji's eyes bugged out at the sight of them and he engaged in a healthy bit of outraged sputtering. He looked like he dearly wanted to ask them what they were doing there, but Dr. McCoy's very impending arrival forced him to merely glare at Nikolai and Adrina both and gesture for them to make room. They both did so, shuffling over so that Koji could crowd in to the tiny space alongside them. The door was barely shut behind Koji when Nikolai heard the office door open once again.

Jacob's voice continued to address Dr. McCoy. "We just find it a little weird meeting in your office is all, sir. We normally have these little powwows in the examination room."

"That was when I wasn't afraid we might be overheard."

Nikolai shared a look with his sister, noting that the irony of that comment had occurred to _her_ as well.

"Is something wrong?" Vegas' voice asked anxiously.

"Why don't _you_ tell _me_?" Dr. McCoy retorted. "You've been off the formula for more than two weeks now, after all. I think you'd know better than me if there've been any complications."

Outside the closet, shocked silence followed the doctor's statement. Inside, Koji muttered a soft "What?" under his breath while Nikolai simply began waiting for things to start making sense again.

"You _knew_?!" Jacob sounded completely blindsided.

"Of course I knew! What do you take me for? Spock and I are good, but we're not magicians! Vegas would never be doing as well as she is if she were still on the formula!"

"But..." Jacob hesitated. "Why haven't you told my dad?"

"I have my reasons," Dr. McCoy stated with a finality that dissuaded further questioning on the subject. "All you need to know is I'm on your side and I won't tell Jim or Spock what I know for now."

Jacob's voice was hesitantly hopeful when he spoke again. "I don't know what to say. Thank you, sir."

"Yes, thank you," Vegas agreed.

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't told you the bad news."

"Bad news?" Vegas asked.

"Yeah, the reason I brought you both here. When you started using the formula, Spock and I stopped actively studying your bond. There didn't seem to be a point," Dr. McCoy went on. "The formula dulled the bond and put it in a kind of stasis. It couldn't continue to strengthen with Vegas' mental faculties at such a low level of operation. When I discovered that you two were weaning Vegas off the formula, I began to start monitoring the bond's development again. I took up were Spock left off with his study of the possible effects of the bond on the both of you."

"Yeah, I remember a while back Commander Spock told me that the bond may be mutating my DNA," mentioned Jacob.

"What?" Vegas' voice was soft and sounded a little hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, it had nothing to do with _you_ and your issues so maybe I thought it wouldn't interest you much, Vegas," Jacob replied, obviously inexplicably annoyed with the alien girl.

"Jacob..." The girl whispered.

But, Jacob interrupted whatever she had been about to say to address Dr. McCoy. "So do you think that's started up again?"

"Based upon the differences between the rounds of bloodwork we did on the both of you, yes. For you, Vegas, the bond seems to have little to no effect on your physiology. You're literally _made_ to be bonded. But, for you, Jake? Just in the space between your first and second tests, your DNA sequence mutated to such a degree that I'm not even sure I can still classify you as entirely Human anymore. You weren't naturally born to form this kind of bond. Your physiology is altering itself to conform to the needs of the bond."

"What sort of alterations are we talking about here? My hair isn't about to turn fuchsia or anything, is it?"

"Well, there're the obvious ones. The changes to your mind to make it receptive to the mental connection you two have, you being in heat on occasion, and what you call your 'Spidey sense' are all alterations caused by the bond. As far as I can tell, the rest are mostly positive. Your cell regeneration is higher and cell deterioration is lower. If that continues, you'll age more slowly than you would have otherwise and have an extended lifespan. Also, your blood is showing immunities to things you were never immune to before, and to a few things no Human _could_ be immune to."

"So the bond's basically protecting me from my own Humanity?"

"Looks like," Dr. McCoy confirmed. "Now, you know the drill. Roll up your sleeve."

Vegas spoke up, voice impossibly small. "You're taking more of his blood?"

"I have to track the progression of the bond. Make sure that it's not doing anything else," explained the doctor. There was a long pause. "Jake, you realize that if something's really wrong with you, I'll have to tell Jim, right?"

"How much time do we have before the results are conclusive?"

"A week. Maybe more. Whatever you two are planning to do, you'd better get it done before then. I assume you have a plan and you aren't just risking all of our lives for the simple joys of youthful rebellion?"

"Risking all our lives?" Adrina said so softly it was almost a breath.

"Shh!" Koji hushed her.

"Well, the plan was to get me off the formula so that I could reboot my memory and figure out how to use my ship," Vegas explained.

"And how are you two planning on doing that sans the doom and destruction?"

"Oh, that's already..." Vegas began.

"That is, she..." continued Jacob.

"We..." Vegas paused.

"It's taken care of," Jacob finished.

"Okay, I don't even WANT to know what's going on there," said Dr. McCoy. "Just promise me that you have it under control."

"Full control, sir," Jacob promised. "Everything's going according to plan."

"Great. Now get out of here before someone invents a perfectly logical reason to come in here and check up on us."

The three conspirators in the office parted ways, and the space fell silent again. The closet in which Nikolai still squatted with his sister and Koji Sulu, was no less quiet for several minutes thereafter. Then: "What were you guys doing in here? Spying?"

"No," said Nikolai at the same time that Adrina said, "Yes."

Nikolai shot a severe look at his sister.

"Well, we _were_," she said without a trace of shame.

Koji shook his head, both hands raised to hover at the level of his face as though he was just about to plunge them into his hair but never really remembered to do so. "I... I just... I don't even know where to begin!" Dropping his hands again, Koji looked at them both and demanded: "What all did you hear?"

Nikolai opened his mouth to assure Koji that they hear nothing at all, but Adrina cut him off before he could say anything. "We heard enough to know that you and Sylaak are helping a machine girl Rapunzel let down her power cord and escape her biodome prison; Jacob, Vegas and Dr. McCoy are harboring a secret that could spell the destruction of us all; and you..." She pointed her short index finger at Koji like it was a firearm. "...are the one responsible for making our mother's first day as Head Nurse, and I quote, 'utterly hellish!' four and a half years ago!"

"I was a twelve year-old junior hacker! What does everybody want from me?" He shook his head again, but this time as if to clear it. "What am I saying? That's not even the point! The things you learned today? This stuff you think you know something about? It's all enormously out of context. There's so much more going on than you know."

"So tell us what you know!" Nikolai said.

"Yes, tell us!" Adrina repeated excitedly. "We could help you! And do your bidding! We'd make excellent minions!"

Koji looked a bit frightened and yet scarily intrigued at the thought of having his own minions.

"Forgive my sister," Nikolai broke in. "Our mother and father always say she reads too many ridiculous novels." He targeted Adrina with a chiding glare before continuing. "We won't become your minions. But we _will_ help you if you tell us what's going on."

"Or tell _on_ you if you don't!" Adrina added with a sunny smile.

Koji sighed. "There's no need for threats. I'll tell you what you need to know so that you two won't sneak around anymore and possibly end up in a dangerous situation. Just give me one minute." Koji whipped out a sleek-looking dark silver PADD.

"What are you doing?" Adrina tried to crane her neck to see what Koji was now typing into the device, but he gave her a look of annoyance and shifted out of her view.

"I'm calling in reinforcements," he said. Once done, he returned his PADD to his messenger bag, and looked at both Nikolai and Adrina in turn. "All right, here's what you need to know sans what you don't: It all started with a girl in a pod..."

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Observation Deck_

Grayson stood near the entryway of O-Deck, surveying the room's occupants with a shrewd eye. There were only three people sharing the chamber at the present time: an Ensign from Engineering sat on the bench nearest Grayson, a couple of younger kids -probably only there because they had been prohibitted from venturing to Anthos IX on their own- were roughhousing toward the back and almost in the dead center of the chamber sat Grayson's quarry. The woman was apparently having a moment alone with her own thoughts while looking down upon the shifting pink-orange cloudface of the planet Anthos IX which engulfed the entire view from most of O-Deck's enormous portwindows.

Grayson steeled her resolve. She would only have one chance to get this meeting right. She strode directly toward her mother's doppelgänger, not deviating from her course until she was standing a mere half-step away, and cleared her throat.

The woman looked up as if surprised to see Grayson even though Grayson had contacted her and arranged their meeting just that morning. "Grayson!" she exclaimed. "It's lovely to see you again. Come, sit down here." Grayson lowered herself into the proffered seat. "I'm always rather surprised that you want to keep meeting with me. Early on, your father and I both suspected that you would most likely be disinclined to see me given...well..." The woman trailed off and looked at Grayson with big, sad eyes.

Grayson's posture stiffened. She hoped Uhura would not notice the reaction. "You have been speaking with my father?" she asked quietly.

"I have met with Mr. Spock on several occasions during my stay here. Just as I have with you," Uhura acknowledged. "He has very graciously extended a hand of friendship to me. Is that...an issue for you?"

"No," said Grayson though her heart constricted painfully at even the thought of her father in contact with this woman. Was it possible that he could decide that this Uhura was enough for him? A suitable and logical replacement for a spouse he believed he would never see again? Grayson tried not to show her displeasure in her face or her tone. "I do, however, think there may turn out to be a conflict of interests for you if I were to share confidences with you that you felt my father might want to know."

"I can assure you that nothing shared between us will get back to your father if you don't want it to. Really I just hope to continue providing you with a friendly ear. I know sometimes there can be things you wish to say, to get off your mind, that you cannot say to the people closest to you."

"Indeed," Grayson agreed, putting on a show of looking wistfully out at the stars and heaving a very Human sigh.

"I gather that you have one such matter on your mind right now," Uhura said, taking Grayson's bait without delay.

Grayson sighed again. "It's nothing."

Uhura reached out to squeeze Grayson's shoulder warmly. "It's all right. You can tell me. I promise, whatever it is, I will not share it with your father."

"Well..." Grayson hesitated. When she saw that Uhura was practically hanging on her every syllable with the strength of her curiosity and concern, she knew she would be able to get anything she wanted from the woman. Despite working toward it for quite some time, Grayson found that the realization was not a pleasant one. Over the time she had known this Uhura, the woman had become something very much like a friend, and Grayson did not relish having to ask so much of her. But, she had come too far to turn back now. She had to remain resolute. No matter what. Grayson squared her shoulders. "I have been speaking to Dr. Newton Ward about the time field..."

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Briefing Room One_

"It's all right! It was all a big false alarm," Scotty announced as he strode into the briefing room. The captain, Spock, Sulu and Chekov all sat around the table where he had left the secret emergency meeting to attend to what he had thought was a massive explosion on his Engineering deck and had turned out to be three ensigns standing around sipping coffee and lollygagging while a shipwide panic was being caused on their behalf. The officers around the table all wrapped up the frantic calls they had been making to the various departments which might have been affected had there actually been a real explosion, and looked to Scotty for an explanation. "Either someone accidentally tripped the alarm system whilst tweaking the wirework in the damaged areas of the ship, or your boy's been up to no good again." He added the last part as he tossed a significant glance at Sulu. "Either way, there's been a lot of hubbub for nothing this morning."

Sulu's mouth thinned. "If Koji's to blame for it, he'll be dealt with."

"I'm sure it was just the faulty wiring," said Kirk. "Koji's come a long way since he was twelve."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sulu said. "He still wears Masters of the Universe pajamas."

Scotty frowned as he took his place at the table. "What's wrong with that?"

"Gentlemen," the captain cut in. "There may not have been an explosion, but we still have a potential catastrophe on our hands." He paused as if preparing them for a moment of solemnity. "I think Lita Kajal may be up to no good."

Everyone around the table nodded and gestured as if to say 'Yes, and?' Even Spock gave Kirk a look that seemed to comment on the faulty logic of thinking otherwise. Scotty snorted and said: "Well, I could have told you that!"

The captain looked flabbergasted. "What? So, it's not just Bones, then? You've ALL been thinking that Lita's evil?"

"She _does_ smirk an awful lot," Chekov put in.

"And she has one of those pretentious English accents," Sulu agreed.

"Okay, so you're all in agreement that Lita has been an obvious villainess all along," grumbled Kirk.

"You don't have to look so duped, Cap'n," Scotty guffawed. "It's not as if you slept with her or anything!"

Every officer in the room shared a laugh sans Spock, predictably, and the captain himself, rather tellingly.

"No!" Scotty gaped. "Tell me you didn't!"

Kirk's silence told his guilt better than any outright confession would have. "Don't-" the captain began to say, but was too late. "-tally it up," he finished lamely as Chekov faithfully recorded this latest conquest on his PADD.

"The Nefarious Dr. Lita Kajal makes thirty-two people you have confessed to, or have been found to be, bedding since you became captain of the Enterprise," Chekov enumerated.

The captain glared. "This is a gross misuse of your intellect."

Chekov shrugged. "Exploits of this magnitude beg to be tabulated. For posterity's sake."

"Speaking of posteriors, how does she rate?" Scotty grinned. "I bet evil girls make excellent lovers!"

"I'm not going to RATE her!"

"That bad?" Sulu wanted to know.

"Or that good!" Scotty added with a laugh.

"All right! All right! Can we get to the purpose of this meeting already?" Kirk held up a thin, silver PADD with the Anthos logo imprinted on the back. Passing it to Spock, who sat at his left, he began to explain. "This PADD belonged to Lita's daughter, Nadia. Or _belongs_ to her. I haven't quite figured that part out yet. The inscription on the back says that it's the property of Nadia Kajal, but the manufacturing date says it was made five years _after_ her supposed death."

Spock studied the PADD briefly before handing it off to Sulu next. "This would seem to indicate that the girl _is_ still alive, however no clear motive presents itself as to why Dr. Kajal would lie about the fact."

"Yeah, and the only other alternative is that Lita might be so severely mentally unsound that she's moonlighting as her dead child in a freakish attempt to cope with the loss," Sulu concurred, holding the PADD out for Chekov to look at next.

"I'm willing to give her the benefit of a doubt on that one," Kirk said.

"You're just saying that because you don't want Chekov to add another to your crazy girl count," chuckled Scotty.

Sulu grinned at Chekov. "What would that make it? Five now?"

"Seven," Chekov corrected with a laugh. "And three crazy men!"

"I think it would be prudent," said Mr. Spock, ever the catalyst for bringing a conversation back from a frivolous divergence. "To first consider what Dr. Kajal has to lose or to gain from the knowledge of her child's life or death."

"Well, we know that the thing Lita seems to care about the most is her position of power and leadership here at Anthos," Kirk supplied.

Sulu frowned. "I don't see how that would be affected by her having a live child as opposed to a dead one."

"Perhaps it was one of those instances when a small lie became a big one," Chekov suggested.

"What small lie could lead to lying about your child's state of existence?" Sulu retorted. "'No, that phaser doesn't make your butt like big'...?"

"'Oh, and, by the way, my daughter kicked the bucket,'" Scotty finished, taking the PADD from Chekov when the younger man shoved it his way.

"Gentlemen, could we be a bit more serious here?" The captain asked.

"That's a difficult task when we're discussing something this far-fetched," said Sulu. "What could possibly drive someone to such an extreme lie? It's the sort of lie a person would only tell to hide a much more sinister secret."

Scrutinizing the PADD with an engineer's eye, Scotty noted the advanced design of the function buttons which lined the bottom edge. He popped open the small tool kit he had mindlessly brought back from his mad dash to the Engineering Deck, and grabbed a screwdriver from within. They others went on arguing back forth about Dr. Kajal's possible motivations whilst Scotty went to work removing the shell from the PADD, cracking open one of the panels in the bottom of the briefing room table which contained a connections hub, and manually connected the PADD to the ship's main computer. "Computer," he said, calling the attention of the other officers to what he was doing. "Acknowledge new connection with _PADD 164D735_," he commanded, reading the PADD'S identification number off the back half of its shell.

"_Connection acknowledged_," the ship's computer chimed.

"Access its operating system."

"_Error. The system is encrypted._"

"Commence decryption. Acknowledge."

"_Acknowledged_."

"This should take-" Scotty almost finished with 'a couple of minutes', but was cut off when the ship's computer made a sound to indicate the end of the decryption. "Nevermind," he said. He studied the PADD's screen. Where before there had been a display asking for the owner's username and password, the PADD was now open to a main screen which showed a backsplash full color image of a view of the main city of the Anthos biodome from one of its highrises. There was a short line of icons along the left edge, from which Scotty selected the one titled 'Messages'. The messaging program started up and the inbox contained a long list of relatively recent received messages. Scotty sounded a long whistle. "Whoever owns this PADD appears to be quite popular of late." Then, studying the messages more closely, he blanched. "Actually, scratch that. This PADD has loads of received messages, but from only two users. **LSKajal** and..." His eyes rose from the device to meet Sulu's. "**AstroBoy**. Koji's screen name."

Sulu's mouth fell open. "But...that's impossible. There must be some mistake."

"It's too much of a coincidence," said Chekov.

"The odds _are_ unlikely that someone from Anthos also goes that moniker," Spock agreed.

"Wait, let me read one of the messages," offered Scotty. He pressed a finger to the screen and selected the first message he came to. However, before he could read what it said, the screen went black as the PADD went into automatic shutdown.

"_Connection terminated_," the _Enterprise's_ computer announced. "_Unauthorized surveillance._"

"Unauthorized surveillance?" Kirk asked. "On our part?"

Scotty shook his head. "No, _Enterprise_ would only shut down a connection like this if there was a danger that someone could gain access to her systems from the outside."

"You're saying this PADD is under outside surveillance?" The captain frowned deeply, brow creased and mouth set. "Could it be a simple parental control program meant to monitor a child's PADD usage?"

"A program such as that would not cause the ship to terminate a connection," stated Spock.

"Computer, name the frequency of PADD 164D735's surveillance program."

"_Frequency 539642847-37B_," the computer chirped.

The room went quiet as all of the officers recognized the number.

Kirk's face settled into its grimest expression yet. "The Anthos frequency."

**. . .**

_{**TOS-Verse**} SPACE - Devian Prime_

A harsh, red halo of light obscured Uhura's vision for just a moment as she stepped into the airlock chamber of Devian Prime and joined the captain, Dr. McCoy, Mr. Chekov, Mr. Sulu, Ensign Yates and Mr. Spock. The airlock doors sealed shut behind her causing the red light to turn green and the airlock opposite to open with a swoosh of stale, over-processed air. Dr. Ravi Amir stood in the corridor beyond to welcome them. The man looked surprisingly healthy despite his age and the fact that he leaned heavily upon the gnarled and twisted dark wood of his walking stick. He also looked much shorter than his transmission to the Enterprise had seemed to indicated. The top of his head barely reached the bottom of Captain Kirk's chin as the two men greeted one another and the captain began to introduce his officers.

The corridor surrounding them was all blocky, sharp corners, unadorned metal walls and exposed wirework. It was clear that Dr. Amir had not had the luxury of taking the aesthetics of Devian Prime into account when patching it up over the years. Still, the space station was in impressively good shape for having had only one caretaker in all that time. "And this is my Communications Officer Nyota Uhura," Captain Kirk said as his round of introductions reached Uhura. She focused once more on the old doctor, and exchanged nods with the man.

"I am so fortunate to meet you all," Dr. Amir said to the assembled away team. His eyes grew solemn and awe-filled as he took in the sight of them all. "I hope that none of you will ever know such isolation as I have known."

Kirk clapped a hand upon the old man's shoulder. "I hope that we can now help to alleviate such isolation for you from now on."

Dr. Amir smiled for what seemed to Uhura the first time. "To that I will counter: How may I be of service to you all?"

"We wish only to learn more about this place, Doctor," informed Kirk. "We have reason to believe that there may be something here which could aid us on our current mission."

"In that case, you have come to the right place," Dr. Amir said with burgeoning enthusiasm. "And the right person. I happen to be something of a historian of this place! What you want is the library! Come along, everyone!" The old doctor began leading the group farther into the core of the space station, taking on the mantle of a wise professor even as they looked on. "I will give you all a brief history of the Anthos Star System and of Devian Prime. Now, The Anthos Solar System was first discovered by Romulans in the year 2010..."

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701_

When Terryn rounded the bend on Medical Bay's corridor, she sighed heavily. There, trying to look casual even as they nervously paced around with obvious worry, were Jacob and Vegas. Terryn's shoulders slumped just that much more than before. "I cannot believe I'm doing this," she muttered to herself dispairingly.

"Terryn," Jacob exclaimed, eyebrow raised in puzzlement, when he saw her dragging her feet in his and Vegas' direction.

"Guess you weren't expecting me," Terryn grumbled to Jacob, disregarding the entire existence of his green-haired companion. "Well, believe me, neither was I. I was minding my own business, overseeing a few of my lower-year minions while they cleaned up party debris, when Sulu hacked Rossum 4.0 and had him incessantly spout a message alert until I finally had to give in and read it. I still I don't know why he called _me_. I'm the reason he got caught the last time he pulled this stunt."

Jacob's expression took an amused turn at that. "I'll want full details on that later. But, for now, any idea what he wants us to do to get him out of there?"

Terryn rolled her eyes, but not at Jacob. "_You_ don't have to do anything. Unsurprisingly, this little jailbreak is going to be the joint effort of me and Sulu's shiny new boytoy. You see, _Harp's_ got the illegal transporter, and _I've_ got the unfettered access to my dad's office. I get in and slap a beacon on Sulu. Then, Harp transports him out. Sulu's plan is simple and to the point, I'll give it that, at least."

Jacob and Vegas looked at each other and Terryn could almost visualize the tiny beeline streams of information being passed to and fro between them. When they were done playing mind tennis, Jacob spoke again, obviously filling the position of spokesperson for the pair seeing as Vegas had rightly divined the likely violent reaction Terryn might have to her making even a peep. "How many transporter beacons do you have?"

"A few," she answered. "For some reason, Sulu requested extra. Harp just gave me a sheet of them."

"Mind lending us a couple?"

Terryn split a look between Jacob and Vegas that she hoped was sufficient enough to get the point across that she thought they were both crazy in the head. "You DO know these beacons are one way tickets to Harp's transporter pad, right? The one in the bowels of Anthos? The place with the strict 'No Vegas on Pain of Death and Dismemberment' policy?"

"We know what we're asking for, Terryn," Jacob said, voice unbendingly serious.

"What's going on?"

Again the bondmates shared a look. "Long story," Jacob said finally. "Tell you later?"

Terryn reached into her pocket for the small, plastic sheet of about twelve, perforated, five by five millimeter transporter beacons. She broke off two of them and passed them to Jacob. "Good luck with whatever crazypants adventure you're embarking on," she said. Then, she sighed. "I'm gonna go help AstroNoob."

But before Terryn could commence her one woman mission to take on Medical Bay, however, Vegas stopped her. "Terryn, wait," the alien girl requested quietly.

Terryn crossed her arms. "I don't have anything to say to you, Vegas."

"I just wanted to say...what happened before... I wasn't myself..." Terryn's eyes narrowed. "But that's no excuse," Vegas hastened to add. "I screwed up. And I'm sorry. Will you ever forgive me?"

Terryn was silent for a long time as she considered Vegas' lackluster apology. In the end, she just shrugged. "I gotta go help Koji," she said, and walked away.

Leaving Jacob and Vegas standing together in the empty corridor, Terryn squared her shoulders and sailed into Sickbay just like it was any other day of the week. Right away she could tell that something had obviously occurred to disrupt her father's well-oiled machine. Doctors, nurses, and interns were flying around the room bumping into one another like dumbassed chickens with their dumbassed heads cut off. She could see her dad furiously directing his underlings with disgruntled words and angry gestures. She had planned to flag him down and indicate that she was just going into his office for completely and totally innocent reasons having nothing to do with sneaking a recalcitrant teenager out of there, but just one look in his direction told her that he didn't even know she was there. _Excellent_, Terryn thought to herself, tone like that of a B movie villain in her mind. Despite herself, she was finding unexpected enjoyment in her current caper.

With a quickly-entered code in the office's companel, she gained entry. The interior was darker than the rest of Sickbay, but anything would seem darker than the blinding brightest of _that_ room. She knew immediately where Koji was likely holed up when she spotted the small closet door to the left of her dad's desk and remembered a similiar occasion years ago when she had unintentionally given his position away by playing with the room controls on the office's desktop comscreen and remotely opening the closet with her father still in the room. Terryn shook her head as she opened it now. "Don't you ever learn, Sul- Twinkovs?! What the hell are _you_ doing in here?"

Crammed in the already too small closet with Koji were a guilty looking Adrina and Nikolai Chekov.

"Boris and Natasha, here, got caught in the web of spies," Koji sighed, stepping out of the closet and stretching his limbs. "They're coming with me. I'll explain later. Do you have those beacons?"

Terryn made no move to acquiesce. "What, no 'Thank you, Empress Terryn' for saving your sorry hide?"

"It seems like every time I talk to you, you promote yourself," mentioned Koji. "But even so: Thanks, Terryn. You're saving me despite probably wanting to skewer me right now and I deeply appreciate it. Now, let's get out of here before we get caught and it was all for nothing."

"Fair enough," Terryn said, breaking off four of the beacons and handing three of them around while keeping one for herself. "I might as well go with you guys," she mentioned, removing the protective film from the back of hers and pasting it to her hand. "My dad didn't even notice that I went in here. You probably could have snuck out the front door."

"I highly doubt that," Koji said as he typed a message into his PADD. He finished and looked up with weird, geeky triumph in his eyes and a crooked grin. "It should be any minute now."

Just as Terryn started to smile back, a cascade of twinkling light overtook her vision and was replaced a moment later with the dark, dingy, agressively drab basement level of Girdy. Koji and the Twinkovs materialized shortly thereafter. Terryn finally noticed the pale, annoyingly handsome face of John Harper when Koji shot a conspriatory grin at him, and they high-fived one another in apparent congratulation of their shared awesomeness. Terryn frowned. "Great, now I remember why I hate your guts, Sulu."

"Terryn, if you really hated my guts you wouldn't be here," Koji pointed out. Behind him, Terryn could see Harp introducing himself to the Twinkovs. "Besides, no matter how much I want to stay here at Anthos, it's gonna be up to my parents whether I get to or not. And my dad's made it clear that it will only happen over his dead body, so that's that."

Terryn sniffed. "Well...good, then," she said, trying to ignore the dejection in Koji's face. She looked away, and spoke to Harp instead. "Where to now? Newt's Playhouse? Or maybe somewhere new like one of those epic hologrids you're always singing the praises of?"

"Oh, yay!" Adrina clasped her hands together beneath her chin in abject elation. "We have never seen those!"

"Mother forbade us from visiting Anthos," Nikolai explained.

"Oh, no. You two aren't going anywhere but back to the ship!" Koji announced sternly. "I got you out of Sickbay. Now it's back home with you."

"Aw, come on, Koji!" Adrina exclaimed, gripping his arm and flashing the patented Sad Little Girl Face which had won her many a boon in the past. "We won't get in your way!"

Koji was unmoved, however. "Sorry, better luck next time. On to the pad with you."

Harp stepped up to the controls of his transporter. "The closest I can get you without being noticed is Ogygia. Is that alright?"

"That will be fine," Nikolai said, pulling his sister along with him as he stepped onto the transporter pad. "Thank you for all your help."

"No problem," Harp grinned. Then, he sent them on their way. "Nice kids," he mentioned when they were gone.

"So, Newt's Playhouse?" Koji asked, already on the point of heading in that direction.

"Nope, we're headed to the Dimensional Research Hangar," Harp corrected. "Newt's been there all day, working with Ravi. And, anyway, Jacob and Vegas just messaged me. They want to sneak into Girdy to see _Selene_ and I told them I'd help. I'm waiting for their signal to transport them in. Vegas is getting a disguise," he explained.

"What kind of disguise could hide _Vegas_?" Koji wondered just as Harp's PADD binged.

"Let's find out," Harp said, working the controls of his illegal transporter like a pro.

Two cylinders of pretty, pretty lights later, Terryn and everyone one else besides the two people on the transporter pad started hooting with laughter. There Vegas stood wearing a grey set of floor length Vulcan's robes and a ginormous pair of red-framed sunglasses with her trademark emerald green locks pinned back from her face and completely hidden beneath the universe's most fake-looking brown wig. The hood of the awkward fitting robes was pulled up, and Vegas kept having to adjust the wig as the weight of the hood continously pulled it down on one side.

Terryn had to gasp for breath she was laughing so hard. "I thought you were trying to AVOID notice!"

"It was all we could come up with with so little time to prepare!" Jacob defended.

"Okay, I know the robe is one of Sylaak's," Terryn said. "But where did you get that wig?"

Koji answered before Jacob could say a word. "Weirdly, Scotty has a hidden stash of them down in Engineering. It's one of those, isn't it?" He looked to Jacob.

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, and Yeoman La got the sunglasses when she did all that shopping for Vegas. She just never wore them."

"For obvious reasons," added Vegas.

"Just FYI, the Twinkovs know about you guys now," said Koji. "Long story."

Jacob sent the dude equivalent of a hurt look to Koji. "Speaking of long stories, why didn't you tell me about your cyborg? I could have helped you!"

"Cyborg?" Terryn and Harp asked in unison.

Koji ignored them. "Why didn't YOU tell me about what you and Vegas were up to? I could have helped YOU! I wasn't the only one keeping epic secrets here."

"Fine, you're right," Jacob acknowledged. "I'll tell you everything later."

"Same here," agreed Koji. "Now, can we get out of this basement? It's giving me the creeps."

"Yeah," Harp said. Then, to Vegas: "But lose the sunglasses if you're going the shy Vulcan route."

As the entire group began the long trek from the lower levels to the above ground stories of Girdy, Terryn shared a look with Harp. "Am I crazy, or did the word 'cyborg' just come up in casual conversation and then go unexplained?"

"I heard it too. Either we're both crazy, or it's a conspiracy."

"I say conspiracy," Terryn replied. "It's ALWAYS a conspiracy..."

**. . .**

_SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, Ambassador T'Pang's Quarters_

Sylaak opened the front door of his family's quarters precisely at the agreed upon time, fifteen minutes after his morning shift at Medical Bay had concluded, not a second before or later. As T'Lale hastened in, Sylaak gave a moment's reflection to the unseemly amount of conspiring he had been doing of late. He was sure his mother would have something to say about it if she knew what sort of activities he had been engaging in. Sylaak would not find out whatever she might have to say, however, because he did not intend for her to ever know. Especially with regards to his current activity...

"You are certain your mother will not discover us?" T'Lale asked in the emotionless monotone which she shared with Vodik but not with her 'siblings' Rahm and Asal.

"For the past several weeks she has gone out in the morning and not returned until late in the evening," assured Sylaak. "I presume now, based on your description of her association with your guardian, that she has been spending that time with Vodik."

"What does she tell _you_ she has been doing?" Some spark in T'Lale's eyes, some infinitesimal quirk at the corner of her lip, made her seem amused.

"My mother is not in the habit of explaining herself to me." He found himself sharpening his tone. "Nor should she be."

"Then, why am I here?"

Sylaak say nothing in reply to T'Lale's apt line of reasoning, only turned in the direction of his mother's computer desk and beckoned the girl with a quick hand gesture. "The information you seek, if it exists, will be in my mother's files." Sylaak sat down at the desk and tapped the large black comscreen built into the wall behind it to awaken it from energy save mode. As he swiftly typed in his mother's username and password, he spoke to T'Lale. "What is it exactly that you wish to learn from the Vulcan Registry?"

T'Lale came over to stand near the edge of the desk, and looked at the comscreen with a strange intensity as Sylaak accessed the program his mother used to organize and catalogue the many Vulcans she met all across the universe. "I want to know who I am," she answered at last. "I want to know where I came from."

"Vodik has never informed you of your origins?" Sylaak asked, moving out of the seat and gesturing for her to take it instead.

T'Lale sat down and Sylaak reached around her to line the comscreen's camera up with her face. "No," she said, watching him as he readied the facial recognition software built into the database. "He told me that he discovered us and took us in without any idea of where we had all come from. That there was no one else to claim us."

"You do not believe him?" Sylaak took a picture of T'Lale's face and the software immediately began sorting through the facial registry for matches or close lookalikes.

T'Lale was silent for several beats. "I have reason to believe that he does not wish for us to be found by any one who might wish to claim us."

Sylaak went to get a chair from the dining table, and sat it down beside T'Lale's as they waited for matches. "Why did you not ask my mother to assist you in this?"

T'Lale made her shrugging gesture. "She is always with Vodik when I meet with her. He will not leave her alone with me."

"What about Rahm or Asal?"

T'Lale gave Sylaak a telling look. "_They_ will not leave her alone with me either."

Before Sylaak could comment on that, the software made a quiet noise to indicate its completed task. He reached up to display the results. "You have one match and over twenty lookalikes," he read. "In my experience with this software, the lookalikes are most often close relatives and the matches..."

"Are the person themselves?" T'Lale finished for him. For the first time he could hear an undercurrent of emotion in her voice. It was breathless like hope, and shaky like fear. Sylaak could not distinguish which emotion was the more dominant. T'Lale breathed in. She selected the match. The profile brought up had an accompanying photo of a young woman who had the exact same facial features as T'Lale. In fact, it _was_ T'Lale, as far as Sylaak could tell. His eyes scanned the information and instantly caught on a glaring inconsistency. "The record says that you perished in the destruction of Old Vulcan."

"That happened before I was born," T'Lale said, brow furrowing as she unfixed her gaze from the eerie photo and looked at the information herself. "My name. What does it say my name was?"

Sylaak scrolled down to the information listed beneath the photograph. "T'Pring," he informed her. "It says your name was T'Pring."

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy_

Try as he might, Harp could not stop staring at the girl now named Vegas whom he had once known as Soldé. She was the same. Unbelievably so. But she was also different. In ways he had not let himself notice during that first fateful encounter he had shared with her on the Enterprise. Except...even now, when he could not _stop_ noticing the ways which she was different, just the sight of her sent his mind flailing back ten years into the past to a time when his life had been absolutely saturated with her presence.

"Harp?" Vegas poked him non-to-gently in the ribs. "Have you been listening?"

"Huh? Sorry, what?"

It was then that Harp realized he had been missing everything Vegas had been saying to him as they snuck along side-by-side down the back hallways of Girdy with Koji, Terryn and Jacob taking up the rear a little further back. Presently, Vegas was staring him down with an exasperated expression he knew all too well. "Harpo! I'm trying to talk to you about something important here!"

Harp's mouth tugged into a goofy smile before he could stop it. "Sorry, start again. I'm listening. I promise."

Vegas' vibrantly violet eyes began to meander around with restless nervous energy, and she started pinching her fingertips together anxiously. "Well...I've been using the HippoCharmus bracelet to try and access more of my memories. Because, I have to remember more about my timeship. And I tried out this one memory-"

The smile ran away from his face as if washed away. "Let me guess," he said. "The memory was called _Selene_, wasn't it?"

Vegas stopped walking, forcing him to stop as well with a hand upon his arm. "Wait, you've seen it?"

Harp sighed. "I've seen them all, Vegas."

Now, she folded her arms around herself in the way she always had when she felt vunerable. "I don't even know what to say to that. Those were..."

"Private?" he suggested for her when it seemed she could not find an appropriate term.

"Yes," she agreed softly. "How could you do that?"

"Soldé," Harp said and then stopped himself when her eyes narrowed. "Sorry. _Vegas_. You were gone for a very long time. I missed you. But, not only that I missed the life I had before that night when everything changed. And, I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of your memories feature my parents. In fact, what I've seen on your charms are the only real memories I have of my mother."

Vegas sucked in a quick breath. "Oh, Harp. You're right. I didn't think of that. I am so sorry. About that night that everything changed."

"Don't worry about. It wasn't your fault. I told you that before."

"Is everything all right here?" Jacob appeared at Vegas' shoulder, perhaps summoned by whatever emotion the girl was exuding through their connection. He keep his eyes on Harp, but his question was clearly for Vegas.

"It's fine," Vegas assured. "Everything's fine."

"Even better than that," agreed Harp. "Because, we're here." He pointed out the massive doors of the Dimensional Research Hangar a couple of feet away from their current position. Koji and Terryn were just catching up with everyone else as Harp backed away from the group in the direction of said hangar. "I'm gonna need you guys to keep quiet and let me do all the talking. You know, so I can smooth things over with Newt and Ravi."

Jacob made a sardonically amused noise. "No complaints here."

Vegas gave her yin a look that clearly said: "Be nice." In fact, Harp suspected that those might be the exact words passing mentally from her to Jacob right before his eyes.

On that note, the lot of them ducked into the hangar. It was mostly dark inside for once. For the first time in a while, the main room was not swarming with Starfleet officers uselessly trying to find out how to make _Helios_ do the impossible. They would be back, Harp was sure, but thankfully not that day. Harp led the group around the perimeter of the cloth-covered ship to the only light in the cavernous chamber, which was a beam of artificial illumination coming from the small office in the back where Newt and Ravi could often be found procrastinating. His guardians' voices could be heard before he and the group got very far. He began to slow his pace, and subsequently that of the people following him, so as to hear better when he recognized the subject of their discussion.

"I'm starting to think they're not just nightmares," Ravi was saying.

"What are you talking about? What else could they be?"

"Owen told me that Dr. Amir tried to imprint his consciousness onto my brain," Ravi said quietly.

"Yeah, and he also said that it didn't work," agrued Newt. "That you were too young for it to take."

"Yes, but..." Ravi paused as if figuring out how best to phrase his thoughts. "The older I get, the more frequent the nightmar- Visions? I don't even know what to call them anymore."

"You're telling me that you think your nightmares are the imprinted memories of the evil mad scientist who created you by cloning himself, raised you from test tube to boyhood for the sole purpose of using you as his Get Out of Death Free Card, AND who happens to have kicked the bucket more than twenty years ago?"

Ravi didn't reply.

"This is the part where you say: 'Well...when you put it THAT way, it's completely insane,'" Newt prompted.

Ravi's voice was almost a whisper when he answered back. "This one had Diane in it."

Harp stopped in his tracks, causing Vegas to bump into him from behind. He now found himself straining to hear every word of a conversation he knew Newt and Ravi would never be having if they thought he was privy to it.

"Rav-"

"Dr. Amir was talking to her about Anthos," Ravi cut Newt off. "Something about the energy she channels. I don't know. I couldn't understand half of it."

"_You_ couldn't understand something?" Newt was apparently amused and disbelieving all at once.

But Ravi's reply was as serious as ever. "The vision-"

"Stop calling them visions," Newt nickpicked.

Ravi went on as though he hadn't said anything. "It was indistinct. Like an oil painting left out in the rain."

"So poetic," was the next thing Newt had to add to his running commentary.

"The colors, the light, even their voices, it all ran together."

"There, you see? Does that sound like a memory to you?"

"Yes, it does," a third voice said. It was then that Harp realized Vegas had left his side, boldly whipped off her wig and burst into Newt and Ravi's office.

"Well, now she's gone and done it," Jacob muttered, before going in after her.

Harp, Koji, and Terryn all looked at one another, shrugged, and went in too.

Newt was on his feet, sputtering with righteous indignation. "What the hell are YOU doing here?"

Ravi looked shell-shocked. "Soldé," he said, looking torn between calling security and jumping up from his desk chair to give her a hug.

"Actually, it's _Vegas_ now," she corrected. "And I think you're right about your imprinted memories. I mean, I should know, right? Memories have kind of become my forte of late."

"What is she DOING here?" Newt asked again.

"You heard all of that?" Ravi asked.

"We _all_ heard it," Harp said, calling their attention to himself.

"Harpie," Newt growled. "I might have known!"

Ravi got to his feet as well now, looking like he was sure he had somehow grossly dishonored Harp's dead mother in front of him. "John, I-"

"Ravi, you could have told me about all this. I'm not nine years old anymore. You can talk about her to me. My dad, too. I won't break."

"We'll see about that," grumbled Newt.

"In fact, I think I know what your vision was about," he said. "Sort of."

Ravi's browline furrowed with puzzlement. "What do you mean? How could that be?"

Harp looked at Vegas. Slowly, he drew the thin chain on his neck out from beneath his shirt. The four little diamond-shaped charms at the end of it glinted in the light. "Sorry, Vegas, but when I told you these were my memories of some girl, I lied to you."

"They're my memories of your mother, aren't they?" Vegas guessed astutely. "I had thought there seemed to be very little of her."

Harp nodded. He brought the chain up over his head and held it out to her. "If you want them back, I completely understand."

Vegas fingered the four charms a second before placing them and the chain back around his neck. "You keep them. They'll probably do you more good than they would me. But... You're going to have to tell me about her some time. I have this feeling that I loved her a lot, and I'm sad that I can't remember her better."

Harp snorted. "You're telling me."

Newt sighed overdramatically. "Can we curb the heartfelt moment and get back to what you know about Diane and Amir?"

Ravi scowled at Newt. "Remember when you asked me to tell you when you're being a dick? This is one of those times."

"No, it's okay, Ravi," Harp assured. He held up the charms again, his breath now coming in short bursts of energetic air. He had never said any of this to anyone. He had never been sure enough until now. "These are four months of memories from the years Vegas spent the most time with my mom. After the dome fell, I used to watch one of Vegas' memories every night before I went to bed to help me sleep. I've watched them all countless times. But, these obsessed me the most. I began to develop conspiracy theories about everything from my mother's death to the dome being destroyed. I thought they all had to be somehow connected. They were mostly crazy idle thoughts for me until I got older and started taking a deeper look at everything around me."

Ravi moved closer. "What did you find out?"

"Okay, you remember that it was Mom's job to maintain the power grid?"

"Yeah," nodded Ravi. "She inherited the responsibility from Dr. Amir."

"Exactly. Well, the night Mom...the night she died, the night before the Seven Day Blackout, there was a short power outage beforehand. She said the generator was acting up and she went to check it. Well the generator was powered by Anthos, wasn't it? She went to check the generator, and she never returned."

"I don't understand," Ravi frowned. "You're saying _Anthos_ killed Diane?"

"I'm saying Anthos powers everything around us. The dome itself, even. And maintaining the power grid, means maintaining Anthos."

"And holding the ultimate trump card," Newt finished, nodding to himself as if connecting the dots even as he spoke. "You're saying that somebody, who's name maybe rhymes with fajita, had a lot to gain from Diane's untimely demise."

"That was my suspicion exactly. Especially after I checked some things out, and found out that Lita was chosen, by her husband Dr. Pierce, to take on Mom's job in the event of her death just one week before the blackout happened."

"That BITCH! I KNEW she was evil!" Newt steamed. "No one smirks that much!"

"I know, right?" Koji agreed.

"And the first thing Lita did when she got the job was to get her husband to sign off on the construction of a sister biodome she designed herself. One that would be more integrated with Anthos than ever before," Harp continued.

"And, therefore, more under her control," Terryn added, also nodding.

"Are you implying what I think you're implying?" Ravi asked.

"If it's that Lita may have also had a motive for wanting the other biodome destroyed, then yes," confirmed Harp.

Vegas gasped. Everyone else stayed in shocked silence. Even Newt was speechless.

"Look, it fits, okay? Before the dome fell, there were a series of small power outages. The same types of outages as the eve before the Seven Day Blackout. We know Soldé couldn't have caused the outage before the blackout. She didn't have the power to do so. Why have we just assumed that she caused similiar ones the night the dome fell?"

Ravi's expression darkened. "You're right. Something isn't adding up. Lita knew Soldé and Lear were launching _Selene_ that night. It was common knowledge among the higher-ups. She may have seen it as a perfect opportunity to frame Soldé."

Vegas looked ready to cry. "But...all those people. Who would sacrifice so many people just to gain power?"

"Yeah," Jacob added, reaching out to grasp Vegas' hand in comfort. "Power doesn't mean much if you don't have anyone to lord it over."

Harp shook his head, feeling frustration at once again coming up against a mental wall which had been getting the best of him for years. "That's the point where my theory always unravels. I can't fathom a motive, beyond complete insanity, that would justify something like that."

"Whatever else she is, Lita's definitely not insane," Newt put in. "Her moves are way too calculated for that to be the case."

Everyone seemed to lapse into thought after that. That is, until Koji spoke up. "Um...so I guess this as good a time as any to mention that Lita's daughter is still alive, more or less, and being keep prisoner here in Girdy, right?"

"WHAT?!" every other person in the room shouted.

**. . .**

_{**TOS-Verse**} SPACE - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, The Bridge_

Scotty leaned back in the captain's chair feeling nothing but ease. The captain had checked in a good thirty minutes ago to report a promising outlook for the away mission and to request that Scotty maintain standard orbit around the planet Anthos VIII and stand by until called upon. Yessir, this was the kind of smooth sailing Scotty preferred on a voyage. He'd take adjectives like 'boring' and 'humdrum' over ones like 'blood-curdling' and 'terrifying' any day of the week.

Scotty got to enjoy his placid musings for precisely three seconds before the Enterprise's intruder alert began blaring on all frequencies. He looked around the bridge at the flabbergasted faces of the crew and muttered: "It figures," before ordering that a team of security personnel meet him at the source of the alert: Engineering deck. Because, to add insult to injury, the bastard had to threaten Scotty's home turf, too! "And alert the captain," he barked at the stand-in Communications Officer, Fairchild.

"Sir, communications are down," stand-in Science Officer Beakman said before an utterly terrified-looking Fairchild could force the words out of her trembling lips.

Scotty swore vociferously and got to his feet. "Keep trying to reach the away team, Fairchild. I'm meeting up with the security team on the way to Engineering. Colby, you're with me!"

"Yessir!" Ensign Colby stood up and joined Scotty at the bridge entrance.

"Beakman, you have the conn until our return!"

With that, Scotty and Colby beat a fast track down to Engineering, stopping only once to gather as many security officers as they could on the way. They were still going at a full run when they burst into Engineering and found...a lone figure of a man, well, a boy really, standing at the central control bank. The officers Scotty had left in charge were all stunned on the floor throughout the main room. At least he _hoped_ they were stunned. The lone figure did not even turn around at first. He just calmly finished whatever he was doing and then faced them. It was a very young man, rather short of stature with a dark complexion and beakish nose. He held a strange mechanical device in his hands, the dials of which he manipulated before finally speaking to their frozen assemblage.

"It's all right. Your ship and everyone on it is his now. But, there's no need to be afraid," he said, voice kind and gentle as though he were talking to small scared animals. "He won't harm you."

Then, he disappeared.

Scotty glanced around at the state of the ship and crew after less than two hours in his care. "Oh, bugger," he said.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy, Dimensional Research Hangar_

"Yeah, but if you make the core coiled it could store that much more energy."

"You're assuming that a coiled core and a cylindrical one can be made out of the same material. On the contrary, the differing materials for these two options store varying amounts of energy and end up having basically the same performance. I still say Dr. Tsung is on to something with her new polymer."

"Dr. Tsung's polymer has barely been tested! We'd be lucky if she had a working prototype in the next five years!"

"Yeah, and Nadia needs a solution now, not later."

"I told you, it's Aidan now."

Vegas sighed as Koji, Ravi, Newt and Harp continued their epically nerdy dialogue. What had started out to be an incredibly interesting conversation about the machine girl daughter Lita Kajal had locked in the upper residential levels of Girdy had degenerated into a boring technical powwow between the mechanical whiz kids about creating a power core that might allow her some freedom of movement beyond the little space she had called home for the last ten years of her life.

Vegas was intellectually aware that she was something of an engineer herself, but it was like her past knowledge of how to string nuts and bolts together to make brilliant things like timeships was locked even further away than everything else in her memories. It had become one of the things that she and 'Soldé' did not have in common anymore.

The arguing guys did not even notice when Vegas slipped quietly out of the small office into the main chamber of the hangar. Jacob and Terryn had already defected there to go and check out _Helios_. Vegas could see the pair of them now milling about in and around the ship, and chatting idly to one another. If she were to access Jacob's senses, she would be able to hear what they were saying to one another, but it felt too much like spying so instead she walked up the stone steps on the far side of the room to sit dangling her legs over the side of the catwalk which bordered the chamber and watching them from afar. _Less spy-like_, she decided.

_But more like a creepy stalker._ Jacob told her.

She looked over to where he stood next to the ship and met his eyes. _What's the verdict with Terryn?_

Jacob shrugged. _She'll get over it._

_What about you?_

He shrugged again and broke their eye contact. _I'll get over it, too._

Just then, the impromptu skull session seemed to break up as the guys began trickling out of the office one by one. Koji and Harp joined Jacob and Terryn near _Helios_ almost immediately, but Newt took a different track and Ravi reluctantly followed him. It was a moment before Vegas realized that they were headed in her direction. Jacob noticed next, and his protective instincts felt like a fire flaring in her own belly. He started to go to her as well, but she shook her head at him. _No, don't. I want to hear what they have to say._

_Whatever it is, it probably won't be good._ He warned.

_I'd deserve it after what I did to Newt._

Jacob frowned. _I'm interceding if things get out of hand._

Studying the look on Newt's face as he and Ravi approached her, Vegas could do nothing be agree to Jacob's terms. _Okay, that's fine with me_, she said before standing up to face them head-on.

Ravi spoke first, obviously attempting to beat Newt to the punch with softer words than were clearly on the tip of Newt's tongue. "Look, Vegas, I know we have all this new information about the night the dome fell, but no one else who survived it does. I think it would be best, for now, if you were to go back to the Enterprise."

"I'm here to help with the ship, Ravi. And I really think I can. Please...just give me some time with it?"

Ravi hesitated, and Newt did not waste time filling the silence. "I know what you did to me," he accused, pointed finger and all. "_Once connected, always connected_. I'm right, aren't I?"

Vegas just nodded, finding it oddly difficult to form words as she struggled to reconcile the snarky and bitter man before her with the gawkish and unintentionally charming boy from her 'memories'.

Newt's eyes turned harder than before. "Well, you needn't have wasted your mind mojo on me. I would have made the same choice on my own eventually."

Ravi put a hand on Newt's arm. "Alright, come on, Newt. You've had your say."

But Newt went on as if Ravi was not even there. "I don't care if it turns out that Lita WAS the one responsible for the destruction of VIII. It doesn't matter in the end. You're still a destroyer, Soldé. And that's all you'll ever be."

Tears stung Vegas' eyes, but she remained silent, resolved to let him say every thing he needed to say to her.

_I'm coming up there._

_No, not yet._

"That's enough, Newt. Give it a rest."

Vegas, Newt and Ravi all looked around to see Harp standing just behind her. It seemed none of them had noticed his approach. Now he stepped past Vegas to stand between her and Newt. Newt responded by scoffing at the younger man.

"It's come to my attention that you've been getting a bit too big for your britches lately, Harpie," Newt mentioned conversationally. "You may need to be knocked down a peg."

Harp did not seem even a little bit intimidated. "Oh and you think _you're_ the one to do that for me?"

"I don't see anyone else lining up to do it."

"Well, let's have it, then."

Newt and Harp stared each other down for a good few seconds before Newt cracked a mad grin, instantly disbursing the tension that had been gathering in the room. "We raised a chivalrous young lad," Newt commented to Ravi, giving Harp a light clip of the jaw with just the tips of his fingers, more fondly than with any anger, before heading away.

"You're completely insane. You know that, right?" Harp called out mildly to Newt's retreating back.

"No, really, Harpie. Did I ever tell you you're my hero?" Newt simpered, looking back at Harp with batting eyelashes and both hands over his heart.

Ravi was busy looking embarassed on Newt's behalf. "Vegas, you can stay here and have a look at _Helios_ if you want, but I'd advise you not to stay very long."

"Okay," Vegas nodded. "Thanks, Ravi."

Ravi turned to follow the path of Newt's exit. When he caught up with his wild-eyed best friend at the bottom of the stairs, he frowned. "Aren't you ever done being an ass, Newt?"

As the pair of them returned to their office, Newt could be heard replying: "Would you love me as much if I ever was? Tell the truth."

Harp turned back to Vegas with sympathetic eyes. "Listen, Newt doesn't mean even eighty percent of what he says."

"I think he meant what he said to me," she disagreed. "And I think I deserved it." Harp was about to protest, but Vegas cut him off. "Anyway, I didn't get to ask you earlier... About that memory called _Selene_? I told you something in it about my timeship. Or at least I started to. And I wanted to ask you if maybe I finished telling you some other time or...?"

Harp's eyes shifted in the direction of Newt and Ravi's office. "Look, if I tell you...you can't let anyone at Anthos know about it. Not even Newt and Ravi."

"Why not?"

"Because, you told ME not to. I mean, _Soldé_-you told me. I mean-"

Vegas waved a hand to hurry him along. "All right, all right, I get it. What did _Soldé_-me tell you about the ship?"

"Well, after that day you didn't speak about _Selene_ again to ANYONE, including me. Not until the night the dome fell. You kept promising me that you weren't going anywhere. That you were just sending Lear back home, but I wouldn't believe you. I was scared that you were leaving and that you'd never come back. So finally, you made me swear not to tell anyone, not Newt or Ravi or even my father and ESPECIALLY not Lear. Then...you said that it never was the ship that brought you and Lear here. That it was you all along. Your power."

Vegas searched Harp's eyes for any indication that he might be joking, but his features remained alarmingly sincere. "How can you be sure that wasn't just something I told you to make you feel better?"

"Because I know you," Harp said simply. "And no matter what Lear OR Newt say...you are NOT a destroyer."

Vegas closed her eyes, but a few tears still escaped beneath her clenched lashes. She reached out blindly for Harp and gave him a tight hug. When they pulled away, Harp kept an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on," he said, leading her along the stone catwalk and down the stairs. "Let's go see _Helios_. He's an exact replica of _Selene_, you know."

"I know."

"And while I don't think either of them are timeships, I DO think it's a beautiful design. From an engineering standpoint." Harp began waxing poetic about the intricacies of the ship's systems and the genius of the materials used until Vegas' mind felt like it wanted to physically shut down from lack of interest. Koji seemed to immediately recognize her 'save me' face the moment she and Harp joined the others around the ship.

"I think you broke her," he mentioned to Harp who ceased his monologue to glance down at Vegas' agressively blank expression.

"Oh! Sorry, Vegas! Soldé could talk for hours about this kind of stuff. I guess I just forgot for a moment that you weren't..."

"Her?" Vegas suggested. "It's fine. I understand." She squeezed Harp's hand once before ducking out from under the arm he had slung over her shoulders and making a beeline for the off-to-the-side metal crate where Jacob had taken up residence. Sinking down next to him was like finding her way home after a long, exhausting journey. She sighed in contentment when his arm automatically wrapped around her, and circled her own arm around his waist, resting her head against his neck where she could feel his reassuring heartbeat.

"Am I still on heat patrol? I forget," Koji, who had followed Vegas over, grinned.

"Nah, that's all over," Jacob said.

"For now," Vegas amended. "Dr. McCoy told me it comes and goes. Like a cycle."

Jacob laughed drily. "Great. Something else to NOT look forward to."

"In that case, I gotta go, you guys," said Koji.

"You're leaving?" Vegas pouted. She felt absurdly like she had not seen Koji in a very long while.

"I'm going to go see Aidan. Tell her about our progress. And everything that's happened."

"Not so fast, Sulu!" Terryn dropped down from _Helios_' hatch and came over. "I'm coming with you and that's all there is to it!"

"Me too," Harp put in, joining them. "I used to know Nadi- I mean, Aidan. I thought she was dead all this time. I'd like to see her again."

Koji seemed to hesitate. "I don't know. I don't want to overwhelm her with so many people. She's basically been a shut-in all this time. I don't think even Lita visits her that much."

"Wow," Terryn said. "That sucks. Now, I _really_ want to go with you!"

"Yeah, me too," Harp said. "Sounds like a change of pace might do her some good."

"Okay, I guess," Koji reluctantly agreed. He looked at Jacob and Vegas. "What about you two?"

Vegas met Jacob's gaze and found they were both in agreement. "No, thanks," Jacob said for the both of them. "Meeting Terryn is enough to exhaust even the most social of people. I think the two of us on top of that would just be cruel."

"Very funny, Kirk."

"Thanks, McCoy. I thought so, too."

"Besides that," Vegas added. "The less time I spend wandering the halls of Girdy, the better."

Koji shrugged. "If that's how you feel..." But Vegas could almost SEE relief wafting off him that he would be ambushing Aidan with two less people than he might have had to otherwise. The group of three trooped out, and Vegas let herself rest her eyes on the ship for the first time. Harp was right. It was beautiful. It had a sleek, birdlike design with a round middle, a graceful wingspan and the same seamless paneling that made her pod unique. Standing up, Vegas grabbed Jacob's hand and drew him along with her as she walked over to _Helios_. They each placed their free hand upon the vessel.

_So, did you hear what Harp said about the ship?_

_Nah, I didn't listen in. Too 'spy-like'._

_Oh, so you just watched from afar like a creepy stalker, then?_ Vegas elbowed him in the ribs.

Jacob grinned. _I'll always be your creepy stalker, wifey. I'm just polite like that._

Vegas slid her hand across the ship until she found the panel that lit up under her touch and caused the hatch to pop open. She tugged on Jacob's hand again to get him to follow her as she stepped up into the small vessel. It was a tighter squeeze than she had initially assumed based on the size of the craft from the outside, she could walk around well enough in it, but Jacob could barely stand up straight without dipping his head. There was a short passageway inside which lead off to a closed door on her left and a clear shot to the cockpit on the right. Vegas chose the cockpit, moving instinctively to the command chair she always seemed to choose in her 'memories' of _Selene_. Jacob sat down in the other, and instantly leaned forward to study the controls with avid interest.

"These controls are deceptively simple-looking, but really they're pretty complex," Jacob enthused aloud. "Though that's not really surprising. This ship IS made to travel space, air and sea, not to even MENTION time. I'd like to try piloting it, actually."

"Didn't you get enough of that when we highjacked the Enterprise?" Vegas wondered.

"I don't think I CAN get enough." Jacob flashed a crooked grin at her. His eyes were almost glowing. "That night I piloted the Enterprise? I think I finally realized what I want to do. I wanna fly, Vegas."

"Helmsman, eh?" Vegas smiled. "Good choice. It suits you."

"That night seems to have changed us all," Jacob went on. "I wanna be a helmsman. Sylaak's become interested in Medical. Terryn..."

"Wants to rule the universe," Vegas finished for him with a laugh which Jacob shared.

"Grayson took to the practical application of Command like a fish to water," Jacob continued proudly. "Even Koji's coming into his own."

Vegas suddenly felt the need to frown. "Leaving _me_ to be the conspicuous exception to this massive scourge of upgrading. In fact, I think I may have even DOWNgraded!"

"You didn't downgrade. You just..." Jacob scrunched his face up as he searched for words to describe her change.

"See? You can't even think of anything! That's why I'm so determined to help Grayson. I have to do something that's worth doing!"

Jacob sat back and looked her in the eye with what she had come to think of as his focused, hero face. "So, Harp's news was favorable, then?"

"Depends on how you look at it I guess," Vegas shrugged. "If what Harp said was right..." A little dry laugh fell from her lips. "It turns out I really COULD send someone to Taco Bell. If I knew where that was."

Jacob surveyed her with dawning comprehension and some other emotion which she really hoped was not the budding sense of horror she feared it might be. "What do you mean exactly?"

Vegas held her hands out to her sides in a half-hearted 'ta-da' gesture that she suspected came off more self-deprecating than she was really aiming for. "Look, Ma, I can transport things from one temporal plane to another."

"Harp thinks you used your power to transport you, your bondmate and your ship...here?"

"Yes?"

Jacob let out an enormous breath, trained his eyes on the ship's controls again, and stayed that way for a long time.

"Could you maybe tell me what you're thinking?" Vegas finally requested when she had had enough of both being cut off from him mentally AND getting no verbal feedback on top of that.

"Honestly, I'm thinking that makes a hell of a lot of sense. And if it's true then you're pretty amazing," he said at last. Vegas was only somewhat surprised when her heart reacted to Jacob's words by trying to break out of her chest to do an exulted dance and, not for the first time, she thought back to what Terryn had once said about her having feelings for Jacob. She thought about what it might mean if Terryn was correct in her assumptions... "I'm thinking that if you can access that part of yourself and find out how it works, we have a really good chance of saving Grayson's mom!"

"Exactly," she said, accelerated heart-rate now due more to the thrumming thrill of purpose that was swiftly filling her veins with adrenaline. "Which is why I want to test it out. Mind you WITHOUT anyone from Starfleet or Anthos finding out about it. Including your dad. Sorry..."

"No, that's smart. There's no telling what use they might try to put you to if they knew you were the key to time travel. But how do you plan on keeping it a secret?"

"I'll do exactly what _Soldé_ did. I'll use this ship as a cover. I'll say I figured out how to operate it, but that only me and you can do so. I'll come up with an excuse. Like alien brain waves, or something. Then, we can try it out. Time travel, that is."

Jacob exhaled and looked around the cockpit with sincere awe on his face. "We're really gonna try this," he smiled. "We're gonna try to conquer space-time!"

Vegas found herself shivering as her mind was transported back to the first 'memory' she'd seen from her bracelet; to the sound of Lear's voice as he had said something so similar in the same ambitious tone and with a light of power in his eyes.

Jacob turned to her. The light and the tone were both absent when he reached out to touch her shoulder and ask: "What's wrong?"

"It's just... It's a big undertaking. Not to be gone into lightly. Are you sure you want to do this? I could always do it alone. Our connection's still new. Fresh. We might be able to sever it safely this way. I mean look at Newt. He's...sort of all right. His bond with me didn't change him much, that is. And I was bonded to him for much longer than we've been bonded! You could still be normal!"

"Vegas," Jacob cut in on her anxious monologue. "I haven't once abandoned you, and I'm not gonna start now."

"But... What about the changes the Bond's causing in you?"

Jacob shook his head stubbornly. "I don't want to talk about that. Let's just tackle one thing at a time."

"We have to talk about it! You're changing, maybe permanently, and we don't know for certain if that change will be for the better!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Jacob shouted, clapping his hands upon the same ship controls he had just been praising. "Do you think I'm just going around with my head in the sand, hoping things will be different when I look up again? I know what's at stake! I've made my choice! Respect it!"

Sensing a tell-tale prickle in her eyes and fearing the onset of fresh tears that it portended, Vegas rose to her feet, determined to leave before Jacob saw her succumb to them. But, before she could get out of his reach, Jacob stood up with her and caught her hand, murmuring her name. She met his eyes and, at last, he let her in again. For just a moment, a flash really, he let her feel the cold, electric current of fear which coursed through every pathway of his being like blood. Then, he shut her out again just as if he had clapped the lid down on a jar.

Vegas, feeling like all the air had rushed out of her at once, made no move to stop her tears when they broke free and began making silent tracks down her face. "You're scared."

Jacob snorted. "That's the understatement of the millennium."

"I'm sorry," she said. "_I'm_ doing this to you. Something inside _me_ is changing you."

"It's done. There's nothing either of us can do about it now," Jacob told her. Raising his hand to her face, he started to gently wipe her tears away. "Now, stop trying to get rid of me, Pod Girl. We need to be united if we're gonna help Grayson. Are you with me, or not?"

Vegas found that she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from tugging upward. "Even if I _did_ have choice," she said.

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy_

"Alright, gentlemen, I think I should do all the talking," Kirk said over his shoulder to Spock, Bones and Sulu as the three officers followed him down the long hallways of Girdy.

"Captain, my son's involved in all of this. Again." Sulu gave Kirk a look meant to remind him, pointedly, of similar past events. "I have some things to say to this woman, too."

"Fine," Kirk allowed. "When it comes to that, you field the interrogation."

"None of this would even be happening if you'd listened to me to begin with," Bones grumbled, looking predictably more disgruntled than usual. "Probably why you left me out of your big secret Lita-bashing meeting this morning. Did you even want me to be here for this?"

Kirk halted abruptly. Sulu narrowly missed running into him. Spock calmly adjusted his step to avoid a similar occurrence. Kirk looked Bones head on. "Let's just get this out of the way right now," he said.

Bones crossed his arms. "Get _what_ out of the way, Jim? Because, I think this is one of those occasions when 'I told you so' just doesn't get the job done."

"Get _this_ out of the way, Bones: The thing you've been waiting over twenty years to hear me say about Lita Kajal. And don't act like it isn't true." He took a deep breath. "You were right. I was wrong. She's a two-faced evil hag. Now, let's move on."

Bones looked gratified for all of two seconds before his brow furrowed in obvious suspicion. "You slept with her, didn't you?"

Kirk threw his hands up and started walking again. "I'm not having this conversation."

"There's no other way you'd be so blasé about conceding my point," Bones went on, matching Kirk stride for stride. Kirk kept his silence. "Fine, don't admit it. Time and Chekov's tally will tell."

"If only I had Chekov's _phaser_ right now..." Kirk growled under his breath.

They continued on with Kirk remaining stubbornly stone-faced and Bones tossing a snarky remark at him every few feet. Until Kirk finally stopped in front of a familiar doorway and rang the bell on its companel.

Bones was just about to start in again when Kirk cut him off. "You know what, this is why I didn't invite you to the meeting! We would have never got anything done with you loading twenty years of 'I told you so' off your back and onto mine! I've had enough, you curmudgeonly old bastard! Now's the time to focus on the task at hand! Consider that an order!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Lita Kajal stepped into view and smirked her superior smirk. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure? And if the next words out of your mouth have to do with a fantasy of belonging to a male harem, I will cut your balls off and eject them into the vacuum of space."

Bones shot Kirk a look that said: 'Yes, that sounds like a completely sane and not at all evil person you should be sharing a bed with!' Kirk ignored him, and trained a hard stare on Lita. "We want to have to little talk with you." He held up Nadia Kajal's PADD so that Lita could get a good look at the thing. "About your daughter."

Lita, whose stance had been curious but unthreatened before, now drew herself up like a cobra readying to strike. "Think very carefully before you make your next move, James. That was always your most fatal flaw. Never stopping to think before following your various whims."

"I'll take my chances this time, Lita." Kirk sent her a smirk of his own. "Now are you going to step aside, or should we have this conversation out here where anyone could walk by and overhear it? Personally, I couldn't care less, but of course I'm not the one with so much to hide, so..."

"Get in here," Lita hissed at last. "All of you. Quickly."

Bones, Spock and Sulu went in, but Kirk, glimpsing movement down the hallway out of the corner of his eye, paused on the threshold. "On the other hand," he said. "Our surprise guest might just render the need for discretion null and void."

Lita was just on the point of spitting a venomous retort at him when said guest came to stand at Kirk's shoulder, and Lita froze. "Orson," she said. "What brings you here?"

The man beside Kirk gave off an air of immense authority despite being only a few years pass his thirtieth birthday. He carried himself like a much older man, and Kirk supposed Orson Crowley _was_ the Anthos equivalent of "old". Without preamble, the man took charge. "The captain here has submitted some troubling reports to the council. I was sent here on behalf of the others to judge the merit of his claims," informed Crowley calmly. "We thought it best to give you a chance to tell your side of the story before we call a full scale tribunal. You know as well as I do that unnecessary unrest must be avoided whenever possible. Living in a fish bowl as we do. Do you submit to this informal questioning?" Crowley's tone helpfully supplied the 'Not that you have a choice' part.

Lita scowled. "Come in."

Kirk followed Crowley into Lita's apartment, and both waited just inside until Lita was forced to go ahead of them and lead the way to her living room where Kirk's three officers had already gathered. Spock stood, hands clasped behind his back, near the globe of Ancient Terra. Sulu had perched himself upon the edge of the brown leather sofa. Bones was pacing around the room, sneering at everything in sight. Kirk went to stand next to Spock, while Crowley and Lita faced one another in the center of room.

"What's this all about?" Lita asked everyone at once.

"Lita," Crowley said, looking at her with all the gravitas he could muster. "Captain Kirk has brought some pretty heavy accusations against you." He took the PADD from Kirk and turned it over again and again in his hands. "I have studied this PADD and so have the other members of the council. It leaves us with some troubling questions on our minds... Is your daughter alive?"

Lita's features went stony and unmoving. "Yes, she is," she said, seemingly without emotion.

Crowley began to shake his head slowly back and forth. "What could possibly be your reason for claiming the opposite all these years?"

Sulu stepped forward. "And what does my son have to do with her?"

Lita seemed genuinely at a loss for the first time. "Your son?"

"Koji. The one you so desperately want here at Anthos. He's been in almost constant communication with your daughter since we got here. Quite a conicidence, don't you think?"

"Trust me, Mr. Sulu, had I known that your son had any connection to my daughter whatsoever, approaching him about that apprencticeship would have been the furtherest thing from my mind. So, you can stop theorizing your little conspiracies about it. Also, the last time I checked it was not a crime to have a living child, gentlemen. So unless the council has conspired to add that to the Big Book of Anthosian No-Nos, I don't see what your business is here."

"It's true that isn't a crime, Lita," Crowley agreed with a nod. Then, both his tone and his gaze sharpen. "But violation of civil liberties _is_."

"Nadia is not being held against her will, if that's what you think," argues Lita.

"It's not _her_ civil liberties which concern us at this juncture."

Lita looked uncertain for once. Her eyes strayed to Kirk as if about seek his assistance, and just as quickly darted away again as she thought better of it.

"There is an unauthorized surveillance program running on the Anthos feed," continued Crowley. "The same feed that powers -and, therefore, has access to- every computer, companel, PADD, and other such electronic communications device on IX. The program can't have created itself. And I'm sure even you can agree that you're the one with the most opportunity to do so. And the one with the most to gain from such a program."

"This is absurd! I had no knowledge of that program until this very moment!"

Crowley's expression gave no indication of whether or not he believed Lita. Nor did his tone reflect any opinion when he calmly asked: "Can you prove that beyond a doubt?"

Lita could only blink, in bitter telling silence, at her accusers. She had no words left with which to defend herself.

Crowley reluctantly pulled a small object from the pocket of his long jacket. As the man approached Lita with it, Kirk could see that it was a pair of restraints. "Then, I'm afraid I have no choice but to take you into custody until such a time as the council can convene to investigate this matter and hold a formal tribunal." When Lita made no move to turn around so that she might be handcuffed, Crowley gave her a sympathetic look at last. "Lita, you know the protocol. You, yourself, wrote most of it. We were not even supposed to allow you this meeting. It was a courtesy."

"Fine," Lita spat, turning around and holding her hands behind her back so that Crowley could properly restrain her. "The protocol also states that it is my right to choose someone to represent my case during the tribunal. And that they cannot refuse once I've chosen them."

Crowley nodded reluctantly whilst he attached the restraints. "That is true. Who have you chosen?"

When Lita turned back around, she looked somehow no less powerful than before and her smirk was back full force. "I choose James T. Kirk."

**. . .**

_SPACE - Anthos IX, Girdy, Aidan's Apartment_

Just like always, Koji let himself into Aidan's apartment. Though, this time was himself, Terryn and Harp. Only, unlike all the other times he had been there, he stopped in the foyer. "Would you guys wait here a minute? I want to make sure she's okay with me bringing you here."

"Sure, man," Harp agreed easily. "Tell us when she's ready."

"Yeah, fine, Sulu. Do your thing." Terryn shooed him away.

Koji left the two of them loitering around the foyer and went into the apartment proper. He started toward her bedroom until noises from the opposite direction made him change course and head for the small kitchen and dining area just through the living room at the end of the long foyer. Aidan saw him before he saw her. "Koji!" she shouted. He glanced around until he finally spotted her near the replicator set into one of the kitchen walls near the more traditional food making implements. She held a bowl of what looked like brown sludge. "Was I supposed to be expecting you?"

"No, you weren't. It occurs to me now that I probably should have sent you a message. I'm sorry about that. I can lea-"

"Don't be silly! You're welcome here any time. You know...unless my mother happens to be visiting, of course... Come over here and tell me if this looks like chocolate pudding to you." She held out the bowl for his inspection.

Koji went to her, not able to stop a persistent grin from forming itself on his face. That is, until he saw what was in the bowl and was forced to gag. "I'm not sure that's _edible_, let alone a tasty chocolate delight."

"My thoughts exactly," Aidan said. She tossed the bowl and its unseemly contents into the sink. "If only I knew someone handy enough to fix my busted replicator... Oh wait, I do!" She gave Koji her best 'pretty please' face.

"Of course I'll fix it, but...I need to tell you something first."

"What is it? Should I be worried?"

"No! Yes? I don't know. Maybe. Not really?" stammered Koji.

Aidan laughed. "Well, which is it?"

"It really all depends. You see...I kind of brought you some company..."

"Company?" Aidan's voice was small and uncertain now.

"Yes, it's when people come to visi-"

"I know what it is! I've just never had any, besides you. I don't think my mom counts..." Her expression oscillated between troubled and elated a few times until it finally settled somewhere near the middle. "Who is it? Who did you bring?"

"I brought two people. My friend Terryn. I've told you about her, remember?"

"Yes, I think. 'Always operating at the highest frequency possible, might be a little crazy in the head'?"

"That's the one," Koji chuckled. "She's also intensely loyal, and always ready to help a friend in need. You'll like her. I promise."

"What about the other person?"

"Oh! Someone from _here_, actually. Someone you might know from the other biodome. Does the name 'John Harper' ring any bells for you?"

Aidan's breath hitched, and her eyes grew wide and watery. "Johnny is here?"

Koji looked at her in alarm. "Is that bad? I can send him away if yo-"

"No! Don't! I want to see him! Where is he?"

"I left them in the foyer," informed Koji. Aidan was rushing out of the room almost before the words were completely out of his mouth.

"Okay..." He said, following after her at a much slower pace. When he reached the foyer she was already wrapped up in Harp's arms, standing on the tips of her toes to encircle her own around his neck. The pair were murmuring bleary phrases to one another which were half loss in the closeness of their embrace. Things like "I can't believe it!" and "I thought you died that night!" mixed in with randomly strung together sentences that made no sense to Koji, but probably made perfect sense to them.

Spotting Koji, Terryn inched around Harp and Aidan to stand beside him. "Well, I didn't see THAT coming," she mentioned. Then, getting a better look at Koji, she went on: "And neither did you, apparently. Sulu! You should have told me!"

Koji pried his eyes away from the scene before them long enough to glance at Terryn in confusion. "Told you what?"

Terryn put her hands on his arms and shoved him backwards out of the foyer, into the living room beyond. "That you're smitten! It all makes sense now! My little AstroNoob's first love/like/what-have-you! They really DO grow up so fast!"

"What are you talking about, you crazy person?"

"The reason you've been spending so much of your time here! The reason you want to stay here forever and ever! You like her!"

"Will you keep your voice down?!" Koji put both his hands over Terryn's mouth to stop her stream of embarrassing insights. He threw a glance over his shoulder to see if Aidan or Harp had noticed, but the two were now having a discussion with one another so intent as to give the impression that they truly believed they were the only two people left in existence. Koji's heart sank and his hands dropped away from Terryn's face.

"Oh, Sulu!" Terryn exclaimed, throwing her arms around him dramatically. "Harp may have a lot of history with her and he may be ridiculously good-looking and smart and, yeah, he also may be a super nice guy and all..."

"Get to the point, McCoy," Koji frowned.

"He may be all of those things, but he's not you. Nobody's you. You're one of a kind."

Koji smiled down at Terryn. "That's actually kind of nice. Thanks."

"Of course, he is EXTREMELY good-looking. That might hurt your odds more than is strictly fair... But that's life, you know?" She sighs grandly. "Unfair..."

"Okay, time for you to go away now," Koji decided, pushing out of Terryn's demented embrace.

"Look, Sulu," Terryn said, becoming as serious as he had ever seen her be. "The reason I was so mad at you before is... Well, everybody's leaving me. Grayson and Sylaak, my two best friends in the world, are both headed to the academy soon. I don't know what Kirk's doing after this, but I doubt he'll stick around either. And of course, where he goes, Vegas follows... It was just gonna be me and you next year. And now..."

"Now even I'm abandoning you," Koji finished for her, feeling like an ass for not realizing before.

"But, that doesn't matter if this is the place for you, Sulu. And it looks like it really is. I mean, here you have a solid group of friends, a badass apprenticeship, and now even a girl to call your own."

Koji flushed brightly. "Well," he said, glancing over at Harp and Aidan once more. "I don't know about that last part so much, but two out of three ain't too shabby, I guess."

"Oh, no worries on that count," Terryn assured him. "I'll be your wingman."

A spike of real dread shot down Koji's spine. "No! That's REALLY not necessary."

"Nonsense! I got your back, Sulu. Watch this."

"Terryn, no!" Koji tried to grab her, but the girl was already out of reach and heading right for Harp and Aidan.

He chased after her, but he was too late. Even as he skidded to a stop near the three people in the foyer, he could see Terryn pulling Harp off to the side, muttering something to him that began with "Hey, Jolene, let's have a talk..." the remainder of which Koji did not hear after she tugged Harp insistently away.

Koji looked at Aidan in horror, but she only seemed vaguely amused. "Your friend's weird. And I'm saying that after having been a shut-in for the majority of my existence."

He let out a small nervous laugh. "Yeah, that's Terryn for you."

"Hey, thanks for this. For bringing them here. Especially Johnny."

"A lot of history there, eh?"

Aidan's smile brightened noticably. "Yeah, he used to be _Nadia Kajal_'s best friend. I thought he died when the dome fell. My mom told me... But that doesn't matter. He's not dead. And I have you to thank for bringing him here."

"Great..." Koji said between his teeth, frozen smile locked in place.

All at once, there was a loud banging at the door. They all glanced at one another in alarm. "It's my mom!" Aidan gasped, eyes casting about as though to find another conveniently-placed closet to shove them all in. Harp and Terryn, who had still been embroiled in a forced tête-à-tête near the door before the thing had started booming, backed up until they were standing right in front of Koji and Aidan when the door suddenly flew up.

But, instead of the smirky, commmanding, de facto leader of IX, there stood a young woman with dark eyes and long, straight auburn hair. Behind her was a small squadron of guards and a couple of other very official-looking civilians. The woman took in the scene of panic she had burst in upon, and seemed actually pretty ashamed to have been the one to cause it. "I apologize for this unforgivable intrusion. We didn't know what we might find here."

Harp's mouth fell open. "Ayame! What are you doing here? Did Ravi send you?"

The woman, Ayame, shook her head at Harp. "No, he didn't. I'm here in an official capacity." Her eyes found Aidan. "You are Nadia Kajal, correct?"

Aidan nodded very uncertainly.

"You probably don't remember me. You were very young when we saw each other last. I'm Ayame Miura, Vice Chancellor of the Citizens' Council. I'm here to inform you that your mother, Dr. Lita Kajal, has been taken into custody pending an investigation of possible crimes against the people of Anthos IX."

Aidan made a small frightened noise of disbelief. Koji wanted to reach out and take her hand, but something made him hold back.

"I have been charged to come here and assess your situation. Up until just a few minutes ago, we all thought that you had perished on VIII. We weren't sure if..."

"If I was being kept prisoner?" Aidan surmised. "I wasn't! My mom kept me here for my own safety! She didn't do anything wrong! You can let her go!"

Ayame shook her head grimly. "I wish it were that simple. Truly, I do. If you will allow me, I can debrief you on the situation and answer any questions you may have."

Aidan nodded. "Yes. I would appreciate that. Please, come in."

Ayame turned to her entourage and murmured a few words which caused them to disburse like so much bureaucratic fog. Then, she stepped through the door for the first time, eying Koji, Terryn and Harp as she did. "The information I have can only be legally released to Lita's next of kin."

"Of course," Aidan said, meeting Koji's gaze.

"Yeah, we were just leaving anyway," Harp announced awkwardly. "Bye, Ayame," he added as a whispered aside to the woman whom he clearly knew well as he and Terryn went for the door.

Koji found himself lingering. Aidan's eyes were big and frightened, and he could not seem to move his legs correctly. "It'll be okay. I know it."

Aidan stood on her tippy toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Go. I'll be all right here."

"Bye," Koji said with an embarassing amount of breath behind the word before he followed on the heels of his friends.

**. . .**

_{**TOS-Verse**} SPACE - Devian Prime, Library_

Dr. Leonard McCoy cast a discerning eye around the chamber Dr. Ravi Amir had brought their away team to almost an hour ago. After offering them cake and refreshments, the old man had begun ceaselessly droning on and on about the history of his far-flung corner of the cosmos. Leonard considered himself a gluttonous seeker of knowledge in all its forms, but enough was enough! They weren't getting anywhere consuming factoid after endless factoid about who and what did this and that at such and such time. They had come here for a very particular bit of knowledge that this man did not seem to have! Just as Amir was about to launch into a lecture about the various studies he and his group of scientists, The Ganehsan Cooperative, had come here to further, Leonard decided to interject. "If you'll allow me to interrupt, Dr. Amir...It seems to me that none of this information really pertains to our predicament."

Dr. Amir, having frozen in place with his mouth still agape in anticipation of spouting even more idle information, shut his mouth finally and brought his long, knobby fingers together in front of him. "And what predicament is that, exactly?"

Uhura stepped forward. "It has to do with me," she said. "You see...I don't actually belong here."

"And by 'here' she means this space and time," Chekov cut in helpfully.

Spock took it upon himself to clarify the previous two statements. "The Lieutenant Uhura you see here is a duplicate of another who used to reside in our shared plane of existence and now does not. An exchange has occurred in which both individuals appear to have been interchanged for the other. According to Lieutenant Uhura, this interspatial exchange occured here in the Anthos Star System of the other dimension."

Dr. Amir showed less surprise than the average individual might. In fact, the main impression the man gave Leonard was that of intellectual curiosity. "And how did this exchange occur? Surely it was under extraordinary circumstances?"

Dr. Amir and everyone else looked to Spock as the most likely candidate to possess an answer to those questions, but the Vulcan himself directed his gaze at Uhura. After a short moment of hesitation, she at last spoke up. "I encountered an anomaly called a time field just outside the Anthos Star System of my dimension. It caused the exchange after its gravity pulled me in just as I was transporting myself out of there. I ended up transporting here, in the place of my counterpart who was also in the middle of transporting."

Out of all the questions which were likely to have been sparked in Dr. Amir from Uhura's reply, the old man settled upon the one which seemed to Leonard to be the least significant. "What did the time field look like?"

Even Uhura seemed thrown by the glaring non sequitur. "Well... It was like a massive, moving collection of nebulae."

"Were these nebulae multi-colored?"

Uhura frowned in obvious confusion. "Yes," she confirmed. "They were all different colors. How did you know that?"

"Had you listened to the remainder of my story, you might have heard something similar. The Cooperative did not simply stumble upon the Anthos Star System by random happenstance. It was a place which we sought out. Many, many years of research on a myriad of universal conundrums led our group to believe...no, to know for absolute fact that the Anthos Star System exists near a dimensional rift. A weak point in the fabric of space-time. A weak point which, we believed, could be utilized to further our understanding of the universe itself. So we came here and we built a home for ourselves. We called it Devian Prime."

Jim stepped forward. "When did you come across an anomaly such as the one Uhura described?"

"It happened five years ago. We had lived and worked on Devian Prime for sixty-four years. Me and several other members of the Cooperative were just beginning experiments on a hypothesis we had been building upon for years. We theorized that it might be possible to interact with other dimensions by manipulating the weakest points in the dimensional rift. We began by creating localized temporary ruptures at those weak points, what one might call portals into other dimensions. The portals were as you described the time field." He turned his gaze on Uhura. "Strange nebulae. Gaseous. Colorful. Perilous... In any case, several of the experiments we conducted with the portals went extremely well. So well, in fact, that we believed we had discovered at least four entirely new dimensions separate from our own. One in particular especially caught my interest, because the energy readings we had obtained from it were astronomical. Energy, as you might imagine, is a resource heavy in demand out here in the black. I got it into my head that it might be possible to siphon energy from one dimension to another. My preliminary tests produced...unsatisfactory results." The old man stared off as if seeing beyond the room they were in and maybe even beyond the space station itself. "My colleagues began to think me mad," he said. "They abandoned me. And so I pressed on. Alone..."

Leonard, who could see that Dr. Amir had drifted off to la-la land right in the middle of the tale, tried to get the man back on track with a well-timed: "What happened?"

Dr. Amir did not respond to Leonard's prompt. Instead, it took an incessant beeping noise from his pocket to rouse the man from his memories of the past. He reached into his pocket and surprised everyone by bringing out a small communicator and answering the thing!

Behind him, Leonard could hear sounds of universal confusion.

"Who's calling him, his Social Bunny?" Sulu hissed.

"Is this like when the homeless people speak to themselves?" whispered Chekov.

Dr. Amir put the phone away and began to address the group again as he idly activated the library's view-screen. "I went ahead with further experiments on the dimensional rift. And, in doing so, I discovered that to siphon energy from another plane of existence I would need to develop a means of trapping it here. Else it would simply be pulled back to where it came from. I decided to open a portal, extract the energy, and then quickly close the portal behind it."

Dr. Amir was not looking at them anymore. The bulk of the concentration he was not using to tell his tale was centered on the controls of the view-screen. He seemed to be scrolling through a long list of video feeds, ostensibly searching for one to show them. Perhaps a slideshow presentation to further augment his batshit narrative.

"But nothing could have prepared me for what came out of that portal. It _was_ energy. An immense energy. Yet it...lived. I only managed to keep it trapped here for seven days... By that time, it had killed every man, woman and child who lived in Devian Prime and nearly destroyed the space station itself... Those who had doubted me, now owed their demise to their own judgmental natures..."

"Set your phasers to stun," Jim muttered to all.

Leonard had just enough time to program the phaser on his belt before Amir glanced in their direction again.

"I, myself, only survived because the being made use of my research vessel to channel her energy for the attack. I was inside the ship. She could not harm me without destroying it, and it was her only means of affecting the physical realm. After seven days of utter destruction, I was forced to reopen the portal. I could not control the being. Could not...contain her. Ah," he added, finally coming to the item on the view-screen's list for which he had been searching. He selected the item. It turned out to be the security feed from one of the cameras on the Engineering deck of the Enterprise. A dark-featured young man whom Leonard did not recognize as being an officer of Starfleet came in, utilized a strange weapon on his belt which seemed to either stun or kill every officer in the room at once, and then proceeded to calmly go around and fiddle with the control panels at each and every one of the stations. Leonard went for his phaser, hearing the collection of high-pitched buzzing that told him six more of the weapons were now trained on Dr. Amir.

Jim's hand tightened on the handle of his phaser. "What's the meaning of this, Amir?"

Dr. Amir did not budge nor even seem particularly concerned with the squadron of weapons aimed at his person. He even wore an oddly whimsical little grin on his face. "Did you know, Captain, that there are only two areas, on a ship such as your own, from which the functioning of the entire vessel might be controlled? The Bridge and the Engineering Deck. And that one might possess the technology to control one of said areas from a remote location? What am I saying? Of course you knew all of that! Your are a Starfleet captain, after all. You already know that, with a few presses of this or that button, I have the power to cause a reaction in your warp core that would detonate your ship and every poor soul within it."

Jim's face turned to stone in the way that it only did when his ship or his crew were being threatened. "Stop this at once! This is madness!"

"You are not the first man to call me mad, Captain," Dr. Amir stated with unnatural tranquillity. "But, you will certainly be the last. Lay your weapons and communicators upon the table and form a line there near the door. I will show you to your quarters."

Leonard only knew that Yates had got it in his head to be the hero of the hour because of a small a blur of crimson red movement in the corner of his eye just before the man fired once, then twice, at Dr. Amir. Neither phaser blast hit its target. And only one of those misses was the fault of Yates' notoriously bad aim. The other would have been a good shot had it not encountered some kind of invisible barrier between it and Dr. Amir, who had done nothing to dodge either blast, and subsequently rebounded on Yates himself. The blazing bolt of energy hit Yates square in the chest. Leonard knew even before the man's body slumped to the floor that the blast had killed him, but he quickly knelt beside Yates to check for a pulse to be absolutely sure. He found none. "He's dead, Jim," Leonard confirmed, meeting the captain's eyes solemnly. All froze in shock and horror. All, that is, but one.

Dr. Amir gazed at his guests turned hostages, a light almost like that of amusement in his dark eyes. "I would not try that again if I were any of you. Now, place your weapons and communicators on the table and form a line at the door."

Jim stared for a long time at the lifeless body on the floor that used to be Yates. When he lifted his eyes, they bore right into those of Dr. Amir. "Do as he says," he ordered in a low voice, moving to place his own devices upon the table.

Dr. Amir looked on in satisfaction as all of the remaining officers in the room followed suit. "Don't look so disheartened. I think you will come to enjoy your stay here. It will, after all, be a long one."


End file.
